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1670001

registered interest
date	14/11/2023
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	Poverty: North Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) adults and (b) children living in destitution in each constituency in North Wales.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	1820
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2023 answer text <p>No assessment has been made of the number of adults and children living in destitution in North Wales.</p><p> </p><p>This government is committed to reducing poverty, including child poverty, and supporting low-income families and has overseen significant falls in absolute poverty since 2009/10.</p><p> </p><p>In 2021/22 there were 1.7 million fewer people in absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10, including 400,000 fewer children, 1 million fewer working age adults and 200,000 fewer pensioners. Rates of absolute poverty after housing costs for individuals in families in receipt of Universal Credit have also fallen by 12ppt since 2019/20.</p><p> </p><p>In Wales, in the three years to 2021/22 there were an average of 500,000 individuals (or 16%) in absolute poverty after housing costs, including 100,000 children. This is 200,000 fewer than in 2009/10, or a 6 percentage point decrease.</p><p> </p><p>Poverty statistics for all individuals are not available at the constituency level. The numbers of children living in low income families before housing costs by constituency are published in the Children in Low Income Families Publication, available <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p> </p><p>The UK Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. We are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising bills.</p><p> </p><p>We are providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact for the devolved administrations, to enable a further extension to the Household Support Fund (HSF) in England over the 2023/24 financial year. As with all government spending in England, the HSF has led to consequential increases in Barnett funding, which the DAs spend at their discretion. As a result of the Household Support Fund extension, Wales has been allocated £50m.</p><p> </p><p>With almost one million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting people, including parents, to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. The latest statistics show that in 2021/22 children living in workless households were 5 times more likely to be in absolute poverty, after housing costs, than those where all adults work.</p><p>To help people into work, our core Jobcentre offer provides a range of options, including face-to-face time with work coaches and interview assistance. In addition, there is specific support targeted towards young people, people aged 50 plus and job seekers with disabilities or health issues.</p><p> </p><p>To support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW. In addition, the voluntary in-work progression offer started to roll-out in April 2022. It is now available in all Jobcentres across Great Britain. We estimate that around 1.4m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work.</p><p> </p><p>To further support parents into work, on 28th June 2023, the maximum monthly amounts that a parent can be reimbursed for their childcare increased by 47%, from £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children to £950.92 and £1,630.15 respectively. Importantly, we can now also provide even more help with upfront childcare costs when parents move into work or increase their hours. This means that a parent who needs this additional financial help can now be provided with funding towards both their first and second set of costs (or increased costs), upfront, thereby easing them into the UC childcare costs cycle.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 21/11/2023 17:02:12 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

1624023

registered interest
date	26/04/2023
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	Maternity Allowance and Maternity Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time was that people claimed (a) Maternity Allowance and (b) Statutory Maternity Pay in the last 12 months for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	182794
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2023 answer text <p>Maternity Allowance data is published on a quarterly basis and includes data on average duration. The latest release is for June to August 2022. Maternity Allowance statistics for May 2022 was not published as planned due to a data production error. Thereby, data from the last 4 available quarters is reported in Table 1. This is taken from note 6 of the Maternity Allowance quarterly statistics published <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/maternity-allowance-quarterly-statistics" target="_blank">here.</a></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 09/05/2023 16:20:12 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

1624024

registered interest
date	26/04/2023
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	Maternity Allowance and Maternity Pay
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average payment was to people that claimed (a) Maternity Allowance and (b) Statutory Maternity Pay in the last 12 months for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	182795
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2023 answer text <p>Maternity Allowance data is published on a quarterly basis and includes data on average payment. The latest release is for June to August 2022. Maternity Allowance statistics for May 2022 was not published as planned due to a data production error. Thereby, data from the last 4 available quarters is reported in Table 1. This is taken from Table 4 of the Maternity Allowance quarterly statistics published <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/maternity-allowance-quarterly-statistics" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Average weekly Maternity Allowance payments over 4 quarters</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Average weekly Maternity Allowance payments</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2021 to August 2021</p></td><td><p>£143.07</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2021 to November 2021</p></td><td><p>£143.69</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2021 to February 2022</p></td><td><p>£141.85</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2022 to August 2022</p></td><td><p>£147.57</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Statutory Maternity Pay is delivered through HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), rather than the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). There is no published data on the average payment for Statutory Maternity Pay.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 09/05/2023 16:22:12 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

1624025

registered interest
date	26/04/2023
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	Maternity 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 claimants of Maternity Allowance who earn below the lower earnings limit were (a) self-employed and (b) recently left employment in the last 12 months for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	182796
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2023 answer text <p>The Lower Earnings Limit per week in the period of 6 July 2022 to 5 April 2023 was £123. Guidance on National Insurance contributions are published <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-national-insurance-contributions/rates-and-allowances-national-insurance-contributions#class-1-national-insurance-thresholds" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p> </p><p>You can get Maternity Allowance for 39 weeks if in the 66 weeks before your baby is due, you have been employed or registered as self-employed for at least 26 weeks. Maternity Allowance eligibility is published <a href="https://www.gov.uk/maternity-allowance/eligibility" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p> </p><p>Maternity Allowance data is published on a quarterly basis and includes data on employment status. The latest release is for June to August 2022. Maternity Allowance statistics for May 2022 was not published as planned due to a data production error. Thereby, data from the last 4 available quarters is reported in Table 1. This is taken from Table 7a of the Maternity Allowance quarterly statistics published <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/maternity-allowance-quarterly-statistics" target="_blank">here.</a></p><p> </p><p>Data specific to claimants earning below the Lower Earnings Limit is not available. The data in Table 1 refers to claimants on both the Maternity Allowance Standard Rate or Variable Rate.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Number of self-employed, unemployed, and other Maternity Allowance claimants over 4 quarters </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Self-employed claimants</p></td><td><p>Unemployed and other claimants</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2021 to August 2021</p></td><td><p>6,900</p></td><td><p>Negligible</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2021 to November 2021</p></td><td><p>5,880</p></td><td><p>Negligible</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2021 to February 2022</p></td><td><p>4,860</p></td><td><p>Negligible</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2022 to August 2022</p></td><td><p>5,740</p></td><td><p>Negligible</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 09/05/2023 16:22:33 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

1468250

registered interest
date	07/06/2022
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	Motability: Electric Vehicles
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of reducing the deposit required for electric vehicles under the Motability scheme.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	13647
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2022 answer text <p>The Department works closely with Motability and is responsible for the disability benefits that provide a passport to the Motability Scheme. Motability is an independent charitable organisation that is wholly responsible for the terms and the administration of the Scheme, along with oversight of Motability Operations.  Therefore no assessment of the deposit has been undertaken by DWP.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 09/06/2022 15:03:57 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

1464944

registered interest
date	23/05/2022
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	Pension Credit: Wales
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 take up rate of Pension Credit in (a) Flintshire and (b) Wales; and what steps her Department is taking to increase take up of Pension Credit.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	6699
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/05/2022 answer text <p>There are currently some 3,600 recipients of Pension Credit in Flintshire and 84,630 Pension Credit recipients in Wales.</p><p> </p><p>We have already undertaken a range of actions to raise awareness of Pension Credit and increase take-up. Initial internal management information suggests that new claims for Pension Credit in the 12 months to December 2021 were around 30% higher compared to the 12 months to December 2019.</p><p> </p><p>Earlier this year, we directly targeted over 11 million pensioners with information about Pension Credit and the additional support it can provide in the leaflet accompanying their annual up-rating notification.</p><p> </p><p>However, it is more important now than ever before that we ensure all eligible pensioners claim the vital financial help which Pension Credit provides. That’s why on 3 April we launched a new Pension Credit awareness campaign. We are promoting Pension Credit in a variety of ways, including on social media – with advertising targeted both at potential recipients as well as their friends and family and also in key locations for the elderly, such as post offices and GP waiting rooms.</p><p> </p><p>I have written to the editors of regional newspapers across England, Scotland and Wales calling on readers to check if they could be eligible and make a claim. This was done on repeat occasions in 2021. I have also written to all MPs, urging them to lend the campaign their support. MPs are well placed to promote Pension Credit to their older constituents and many already do so.</p><p> </p><p>On 6 June there will be a further roundtable meeting with some stakeholders, who have reach and expertise, to identify other practical initiatives to encourage eligible pensioners to claim.</p><p> </p><p>On 15 June, there will be another Pension Credit awareness media day of action with broadcasters, newspapers and other partners encouraged to reach out to pensioners to promote Pension Credit through their channels. We will also extend the campaign to include advertising in regional and national newspapers.  This event was a success in 2021.</p><p> </p><p>We know that one of the best ways to reach eligible customers is through trusted stakeholders working in the community. We will be producing and distributing leaflets and posters which can be used across local communities, and we will also be updating our digital toolkit with information and resources that any stakeholder can use to help promote Pension Credit.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 30/05/2022 10:13:23 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

1455883

registered interest
date	30/03/2022
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	Carers: Cost of Living
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 adequacy of support for unpaid carers with the rising cost of living.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	150100
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2022 answer text <p>The primary purpose of Carer’s Allowance is to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who give up the opportunity of full-time employment in order to provide regular and substantial care for a severely disabled person.</p><p> </p><p>The level of Carer’s Allowance is protected by uprating it each year in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The rate will increase from 11 April, which means that since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance will have increased from £53.90 to £69.70 a week, providing an additional £800 a year for carers through Carer’s Allowance.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to Carer’s Allowance, carers on low incomes can claim income-related benefits, such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit. These benefits can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities through the carer element and the additional amount for carers respectively. The Universal Credit carer element will increase in April to £168.81 per monthly assessment period, and the additional amount for carers in Pension Credit will increase to £38.85 per week. This means carers can receive an additional £2,000 a year.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that many people, including carers, are facing pressures with the cost of living – which is why we’re providing support with the cost of living worth £22 billion across this financial year and next.</p> answering member constituency Norwich North answering member printed Chloe Smith question first answered 19/04/2022 16:39:19 answering member 1609 label Biography information for Chloe Smith
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

1441429

registered interest
date	15/03/2022
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: Homes for Ukraine Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the £350 allowance payable to hosts in the Homes for Ukraine scheme will be (a) treated as earned income, (b) treated as unearned income or (c) disregarded for the purposes of (i) universal credit, (ii) employment and support allowance, (iii) jobseeker's allowance, (iv) pension credit, (v) carers allowance and (vi) housing benefit.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	140381
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2022 answer text <p>We are ensuring those who have stepped up to sponsor a Ukrainian individual or family do not see their household benefit entitlements affected as a result. Payment of the £350 ‘thank you’ payment will not be counted as income for the purpose of calculating benefit entitlement.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 23/03/2022 17:39:44 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

1381942

registered interest
date	24/11/2021
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	Children: Maintenance
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 potential (a) fairness and (b) sustainability of the Child Maintenance scheme in calculating payments from self-employed paying parents whose businesses had a short-term, exceptional increase in profit in tax year 2020-21 due to deferred costs and government grants relating to the outbreak of covid-19; and what assessment she has made of the effect on those paying parent's (i) finances and (ii) mental health where their business may have subsequently experienced a downturn.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	80920
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2021 answer text <p>The Child Maintenance calculation is designed to be fair and affordable, while ensuring that the paying parent contributes a significant proportion of their income to support their children.</p><p> </p><p>For self-employed paying parents the income used to calculate child maintenance payments is usually provided by HMRC and is the gross taxable profit of the parent’s business, for the latest tax-year HMRC hold a complete record. The taxable profits of a business represent the amount from which a business owner can support themselves and meet their outgoings.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 80921 question first answered 02/12/2021 16:34:32 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami

1381945

registered interest
date	24/11/2021
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	Children: Maintenance
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 equity of the proportion of a self-employed parent's income that is payable as Child Maintenance.
tabling member constituency	Alyn and Deeside
tabling member printed	Mark Tami
uin	80921
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2021 answer text <p>The Child Maintenance calculation is designed to be fair and affordable, while ensuring that the paying parent contributes a significant proportion of their income to support their children.</p><p> </p><p>For self-employed paying parents the income used to calculate child maintenance payments is usually provided by HMRC and is the gross taxable profit of the parent’s business, for the latest tax-year HMRC hold a complete record. The taxable profits of a business represent the amount from which a business owner can support themselves and meet their outgoings.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 80920 question first answered 02/12/2021 16:34:32 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1383 label Biography information for Mark Tami