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166639

	registered interest
	date	27/11/2014
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have carried out any forecasts of the level of child poverty between now and 2020; and if so, whether they will be made public.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL3230
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Government does not produce forecasts of the number of children living in income poverty as the number of children in poverty is dependent on factors which cannot be reliably predicted, such as the median income.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does measure annual child poverty statistics through the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. Estimates of the number and proportion of children in relative and absolute low income in the UK have consistently been reported since 1998/99; these are available for each financial year up to 2012/13, the latest period for which estimates are available.</p><p> </p><p>There has been no assessment of the impact on child poverty of the combined tax and benefit changes announced since May 2010. Available survey data does not allow the Government to robustly assess the combined effects of tax and benefit policy on households with children.</p><p> </p><p>However, this Government has taken unprecedented steps to assess the effects of its policy decisions across the distribution of household income, by publishing analysis of the cumulative effects of the tax and welfare measures announced at each fiscal event since the June Budget 2010. The latest analysis can be found in Chapter 2 of the attached report.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL3231 question first answered 11/12/2014 16:55:04 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

166640

	registered interest
	date	27/11/2014
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have calculated the impact on child poverty of the combined tax and benefit policy changes announced to date since May 2010.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL3231
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/12/2014 answer text <p>The Government does not produce forecasts of the number of children living in income poverty as the number of children in poverty is dependent on factors which cannot be reliably predicted, such as the median income.</p><p> </p><p>The Government does measure annual child poverty statistics through the National Statistics Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. Estimates of the number and proportion of children in relative and absolute low income in the UK have consistently been reported since 1998/99; these are available for each financial year up to 2012/13, the latest period for which estimates are available.</p><p> </p><p>There has been no assessment of the impact on child poverty of the combined tax and benefit changes announced since May 2010. Available survey data does not allow the Government to robustly assess the combined effects of tax and benefit policy on households with children.</p><p> </p><p>However, this Government has taken unprecedented steps to assess the effects of its policy decisions across the distribution of household income, by publishing analysis of the cumulative effects of the tax and welfare measures announced at each fiscal event since the June Budget 2010. The latest analysis can be found in Chapter 2 of the attached report.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL3230 question first answered 11/12/2014 16:55:04 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

155667

	registered interest
	date	17/11/2014
	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	Work Capability Assessment
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether people who are undergoing a work capability assessment because of mental health problems are guaranteed assessment by health professionals who have psychiatric expertise.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL2851
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>All healthcare professionals who carry out work capability assessments on behalf of the DWP are fully trained in disability assessment and are registered with their respective Regulatory Body. Healthcare professionals receive comprehensive training in the functional effects of mental health conditions. In addition all health professionals are supported by mental function champions who have specialist knowledge of mental health conditions and provide support and best practice advice.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 25/11/2014 14:38:05 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

176260

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2015
	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	Social Security Benefits
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made to implement the changes announced in December 2014 to provide more information about Short Term Benefit Advances online and in Jobcentres and to update the guidance on Short Term Benefit Advances for Jobcentre advisers.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL4518
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Rt. Hon. Iain Duncan Smith, set out on 8 December 2014 (Official Report, column 633) how the Department for Work and Pensions will be doing much to raise awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances (STBAs). This will include providing more information to claimants about STBAs online and in Jobcentres. Staff guidance on STBAs will also be updated and staff reminded of the process for considering an STBA.</p><p> </p><p>The department has already undertaken testing of the posters and messaging with a small number of staff and claimants. We have also asked the Social Security Advisory Committee to review these customer communication products before they are introduced.</p><p> </p><p>Once the products have been introduced we will, of course, closely monitor their effectiveness and impact, including on the number of requests for STBAs.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud grouped question UIN HL4519 HL4520 HL4521 question first answered 04/02/2015 15:06:07 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

349525

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2015
	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	Fuel Direct Scheme
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the affordability of a standard Fuel Direct rate of £3.70 for direct payments for arrears on fuel bills; and whether in setting that rate they considered (1) allowing some customers to pay a lower rate of direct deduction, and (2) allowing customers to pay by Fuel Direct for ongoing bills when they are not in arrears.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL394
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Third Party Deduction is a long standing scheme of last resort where all other means of budgeting have been exhausted. Where the Secretary of State decides that it is in the claimant’s best interests to order repayment of the arrears he can do so. The scheme was introduced in the 1970’s to protect the vulnerable and their family, whilst not adding to their financial burden.</p><p> </p><p>Fuel Direct is set in legislation at 5% of their Personal Allowance, which is a fixed deduction of £3.70 for each element of fuel debt. This is considered to be the most appropriate level of repayment in order to clear the fuel debt arrears and to prevent enforcement action.</p><p> </p><p>Each year the amount of Third Party Deduction is re-assessed as part of The Social Security Up-rating Order.</p><p> </p><p>Once the arrears have been paid a person will usually be taken off the Fuel Direct scheme. In exceptional circumstances a person may be allowed to remain on the Fuel Direct scheme to help ensure that they don’t get into debt again.</p><p> </p><p>However Fuel Direct is not intended as a budgeting aid and the Governments main objective is to help people into employment, whilst encouraging them to be responsible for their own financial affairs, whether they are on benefit or not.</p> answering member printed Baroness Altmann question first answered 18/06/2015 14:39:18 answering member 4533 label Biography information for Baroness Altmann
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

79696

	registered interest
	date	28/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to mitigate the impact of the under-occupancy charge on household debt.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL1588
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The removal of the spare room subsidy was a necessary change in order to get the housing benefit bill under control, return fairness to the system and make better use of social housing stock.</p><p> </p><p>For those that are vulnerable and who may require more time to make the transition to change, the Discretionary Housing Payment scheme administered by local authorities is available. Money management and budgeting and debt advice is also provided by many local authorities and social sector landlords.</p><p> </p><p>Additional Discretionary Housing Payment funding has been made available to local authorities to help them support vulnerable claimants to cope with the changes. For 2014/15 this totals £165m. At the end of 2013/14 £21m of the £180m central Government funding remained unspent. This included £7m from a bidding scheme fund that was available during the second half of the year and which all local authorities were encouraged to apply for.</p><p> </p><p>Recently published data from the Homes and Communities Agency shows housing association arrears in England falling for the two quarters to the end of March 2014 compared to the same period in the previous year. Rent collection remained at 99 per cent during the same period.</p><p> </p><p>We are continuing to monitor and evaluate the policy. The final report of the two year independent evaluation will be published during 2015.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 30/07/2014 14:36:30 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

79697

	registered interest
	date	28/07/2014
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the under-occupancy charge on child poverty.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL1589
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>This cost of providing this information is disproportionate.</p><p> </p><p>This Government has made good progress in tackling the root cause of child poverty and has recently published its 2014-17 child poverty strategy which outlines the actions being taken.</p><p> </p><p>The latest figures from 2012/13 show that the number of children in relative income poverty has fallen by 300,000 since 2009/10 representing the lowest level since the mid – 1980s.</p> answering member printed Lord Freud question first answered 30/07/2014 14:19:03 answering member 3893 label Biography information for Lord Freud
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

723761

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2017
	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	Bereavement Support Payment
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government why, when determining the length of time for which Bereavement Support Payments would be paid, they considered 18 months a suitable timeframe for bereavement support.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL6803
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2017 answer text <p>Bereavement Support Payment is intended to help people with the additional costs immediately following a bereavement. Income-related benefits are more suited for longer-term assistance with everyday living expenses. Evidence from the Government’s public consultation exercise in 2011 suggested the financial impact of spousal bereavement was more acute in the early months; and so this new benefit provides a significant cash boost of a lump sum followed by 18 monthly instalments. The Government originally proposed 12 monthly instalments, but in response to representations from the Social Security Advisory Committee, the Work and Pensions Select Committee and groups supporting bereaved people, this was extended to 18 months. This ensures that the payments do not end on the anniversary of the death.</p> answering member printed Lord Henley question first answered 26/04/2017 16:14:16 answering member 2616 label Biography information for Lord Henley
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1522701

	registered interest
	date	17/10/2022
	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	Cold Weather Payments
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the Cold Weather Payment given increased energy costs.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL2653
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2022 answer text <p>Cold Weather Payments help vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits to meet the additional costs of heating during periods of severe cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. We keep all policies, including Cold Weather Payment, under constant review.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 27/10/2022 12:54:15 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans

1652575

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2023
	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	Food Banks: Refrigeration
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Markham on 14 December 2022 (HL Deb col 653), what assessment they have made of the provision of freezers and fridges to increase food banks’ storage capacity.
	tabling member printed	The Lord Bishop of St Albans
	uin	HL9301
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2023 answer text <p>Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst Government recognises that food charities are a great example of the generosity of spirit of communities across the country, it is important to recognise the important distinction between government welfare support and discretionary charitable support. Therefore, the Department for Work and Pensions is unable to make an assessment as Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations who design their own delivery models and criteria to access their services.</p><p> </p><p>Government understands the pressures people, including parents, are facing with the cost of living and is taking action to help. Overall, the government is providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023- 24 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of bills.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also announced over £100 million of support for charities and community organisations in England at the Spring Budget. This will support frontline organisations experiencing increased demand and higher delivery costs and will provide some investment in energy efficiency measures. It will be targeted towards those organisations most at risk from cost of living pressures, due to increased demand and higher delivery costs, as well as providing investment in energy efficiency measures. Further detail will be published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport shortly.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 25/07/2023 16:01:59 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
	tabling member	4308 label Biography information for The Lord Bishop of St Albans