Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed question first answered question first ministerially corrected answering member label attachment file name title previous answer version answering member constituency answering member printed answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1585955

registered interest
date	09/02/2023
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: Overpayments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many overpayments of Universal Credit have been attributed to Official Error in each of the last three years; and what the total value of those overpayments.
tabling member constituency	Westminster North
tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
uin	143682
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt, because it is all recoverable in law.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on fraud and error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">For UC, the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£700m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£800m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£700m) in 2021/22.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made, but do indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact the DWP to discuss their repayment plan.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt because it is all recoverable in law. </ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on Fraud and Error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">For UC the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£250m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£330m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£270m) in 2021/22.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made across the year but indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type, at a point in time. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%. </ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact DWP to discuss their repayment plan.</ins></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 22/02/2023 11:43:36 question first ministerially corrected 08/03/2023 16:11:50 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove previous answer version 56681 answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1585957

registered interest
date	09/02/2023
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: Overpayments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the value is of overpayments within Universal Credit attributed to Official Error recovered In each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Westminster North
tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
uin	143683
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt (in this way) because it is all recoverable in law.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on fraud and error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">For UC, the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£700m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£800m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£700m) in 2021/22.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made, but do indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact the DWP to discuss their repayment plan.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt because it is all recoverable in law. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on Fraud and Error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">For UC the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£250m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£330m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£270m) in 2021/22.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made across the year but indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type, at a point in time. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact DWP to discuss their repayment plan. </ins></p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 22/02/2023 12:10:37 question first ministerially corrected 08/03/2023 16:11:40 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove previous answer version 56691 answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1585958

registered interest
date	09/02/2023
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: Overpayments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many cases where the claimant had previously been advised no overpayment had occurred a Universal Credit overpayment attributed to Official Error has been identified in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Westminster North
tabling member printed	Ms Karen Buck
uin	143684
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt (in this way) because it is all recoverable in law.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on fraud and error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">For UC, the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£700m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£800m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£700m) in 2021/22.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made, but do indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial"><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">The DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact the DWP to discuss their repayment plan.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested, as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt because it is all recoverable in law. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">However, our national statistics on Fraud and Error in the benefit system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">For UC the figures show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£250m) in 2019/20, to 0.9% (£330m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£270m) in 2021/22.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The statistics do not cover the number of overpayments made across the year but indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type, at a point in time. In 2019/20 the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%. </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates" target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> </ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers experiencing hardship to contact DWP to discuss their repayment plan.  </ins></p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 22/02/2023 12:10:37 question first ministerially corrected 08/03/2023 16:11:29 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove previous answer version 56694 answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	199 label Biography information for Ms Karen Buck

1585141

registered interest
date	07/02/2023
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	Employment: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many individuals (a) were referred to, (b) participated in and (c) had a job outcome from the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme in each of the last five financial years.
tabling member constituency	Leicester South
tabling member printed	Jonathan Ashworth
uin	141458
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2023 answer text <p>Referrals to Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES) began in <del class="ministerial">April</del> <ins class="ministerial">December</ins> 2019. Individuals can be referred to, and start, IPES more than once. The total number or referrals, starts, and outcomes by financial year is provided below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Year 1: <br /> <del class="ministerial">April</del> <ins class="ministerial">December</ins> 2019 to March 2020</p></td><td><p>Year 2: <br /> April 2020 to March 2021</p></td><td><p>Year 3: <br /> April 2021 to March 2022</p></td><td><p>Year 4: <br /> April 2022 to January 2023*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Referrals</p></td><td><p>1,060</p></td><td><p>4,295</p></td><td><p>5,410</p></td><td><p>3,550</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Starts</p></td><td><p>780</p></td><td><p>2,590</p></td><td><p>3,020</p></td><td><p>2,425</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Lower threshold outcomes</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>190</p></td><td><p>990</p></td><td><p>760</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Higher threshold outcomes</p></td><td><p>-</p></td><td><p>115</p></td><td><p>740</p></td><td><p>725</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*Financial year ongoing</p><p> </p><p><strong>Please note</strong></p><p> </p><ul><li>The data recorded in the IPES dataset does not meet the standards required to be included in the Official Statistics. <strong>Please</strong> <strong>treat all values as guide figures rather than actual figures.</strong></li><li>No outcomes are recorded against year 1 because of the time lag before outcomes are recorded, and the fact there were only a small number of starts in year 1, all towards the end of the year. IPES provision supports participants for up to 15 months, this means it can take some time before an outcome is achieved, therefore some outcomes shown in later years will be for participants who started the programme in earlier years.</li><li>Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.</li><li>The data for higher and lower threshold outcomes includes both employed and self-employed outcomes.</li><li>Employment outcomes for IPES are paid when participants achieve the minimum thresholds, identified through HMRC Real Time Earnings data, and can be achieved at any point within the 639-day period that they are on programme (456 days support plus 182 days ‘In Work Support’, where required). Therefore, some outcomes in later years will be from people who started in earlier years:</li></ul><p><strong>Lower threshold Outcome </strong>(LTO) - Earnings equivalent to 16 hours per week for 91 days, at the adult rate (age 25 and over) of the National Living Wage, or a cumulative period of not less than 91 days’ self-employment.</p><p><strong>Higher threshold Outcome</strong> (HTO) - Earnings equivalent to 16 hours per week for 182 days, at the adult rate (age 25 and over) of the National Living Wage, or a cumulative period of not less than 182 days’ self-employment.</p><ul><li>Any self-employed outcomes will have been paid when participants have been trading for the set time periods of 91 (LTO) or 182 (HTO) days and providers have sufficient evidence to confirm that the outcome is valid – these will also be achieved within the same 639-day period.</li><li>More information on how outcomes are calculated can be found on the Gov.UK website under Intensive Personalised Employment Support provider guidance - Chapter 7.</li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 20/02/2023 16:24:49 question first ministerially corrected 06/03/2023 12:39:53 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove previous answer version 56294 answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4244 label Biography information for Jonathan Ashworth

1581831

registered interest
date	30/01/2023
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	Health and Safety Executive: Wind Power
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Health and Safety Executive are responsible for offshore windfarm operations in international waters.
tabling member constituency	East Lothian
tabling member printed	Kenny MacAskill
uin	135417
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2023 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">Health and safety standards for workers employed on offshore windfarms on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) are regulated in Great Britain by the Health and Safety Executive.</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">The Energy Act 2004 vests rights to The Crown Estate and the Crown Estate Scotland to license the generation of renewable energy on the UKCS within the Renewable Energy Zone out to 200 nautical miles.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Health and safety standards for workers employed on offshore windfarms on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) are regulated in Great Britain by the Health and Safety Executive.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The Energy Act 2004 vests rights to The Crown Estate to license the generation of renewable energy on the UKCS within the Renewable Energy Zone out to 200 nautical miles. In Scotland, Crown Estate Scotland is the body which leases seabed, whilst Marine Scotland oversees licensing.</ins></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 01/02/2023 16:34:18 question first ministerially corrected 22/02/2023 13:03:49 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 52146 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4772 label Biography information for Kenny MacAskill

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

1550310

registered interest
date	09/12/2022
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his Department spent in 2021 on purchasing goods and services with a value of less than £500 on a government procurement card.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	107067
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/12/2022 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">The total spent by the Department for Work and Pensions on items with a value of less than £500 on a Government Procurement card in 2021 was £36,488,921.81.</del></p><p> </p><p><del class="ministerial">Source: GPC Transactions Folder - Discoverer</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The total spent by the Department for Work and Pensions on items with a value of less than £500 on a Government Procurement Card (GPC) in 2021 was £8,507,730.65 (69,786 transactions).</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"><strong>Source:</strong> GPC data. This gives details of all transactions posted during the 2021 calendar year and includes expenditure as well as refunds. The figure quoted is net of refunds.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial"> <strong>Points to note:</strong> </ins></p><ul><li><ins class="ministerial">The Government Procurement Card (GPC) is a purchasing solution specifically for low risk/ low value purchases, enabling Government to buy from particular suppliers that include both small and medium sized enterprises.</ins></li><li><ins class="ministerial">The card transaction limit for Approval to Buy (A2B) transactions is £500. Approximately 96% of all transactions are A2B.</ins></li><li><ins class="ministerial">The card transaction limit for a ‘physical’ card is £600, with exceptions allowed on approval of a supporting business case.</ins></li><li><ins class="ministerial">Most GPC transactions are for Flexible Support Fund (FSF) expenditure, supporting claimants back into the workplace by covering costs associated with seeking employment, e.g. interview travel expenses.</ins></li></ul> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 19/12/2022 17:11:53 question first ministerially corrected 09/01/2023 17:27:06 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 43278 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1548435

registered interest
date	05/12/2022
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	Department for Work and Pensions: Accountancy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the (a) nature and (b) value was of all (i) contracts, (ii) consultancies and (iii) other services placed with the accountancy firms (A) Deloitte & Touche, (B) Ernst & Young, (C) KPMG and (D) PricewaterhouseCoopers in each year since 2010-11 by (1) their Department, (2) any predecessor Departments and (3) departmental agencies.
tabling member constituency	Leyton and Wanstead
tabling member printed	John Cryer
uin	102743
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/12/2022 answer text <p><del class="ministerial">Between 1 December 2021 and 31 August 2022, the Department’s Chief Scientific Adviser met with a) the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in a total of 4 meetings and with b) other Ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions in a total of 7 meetings. This included:</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">(i) Between 1 December 2021 – 28 February 2022 – a) 1 meeting, b) 3 meetings</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">(ii) Between 1 March to 31 May 2022 – a) 1 meeting, b) 2 meetings</del></p><p><del class="ministerial">(iii) Between 1 June to 31 August 2022 - a) 2 meetings, b) 2 meetings</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">Please see the attachment provided for a comprehensive list for each of the organisations requested covering the data sets requested in the PQ.</ins></p><p> </p><p><ins class="ministerial">Further Information regarding the contracts can be found on gov.uk’s Contract Finder Service located <a href="https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search" target="_blank">here.</a></ins></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 09/12/2022 12:33:37 question first ministerially corrected 09/12/2022 14:30:20 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies attachment 1 file name Attachment.xlsx title PQ 102743 previous answer version 40903 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	181 label Biography information for John Cryer

1489189

registered interest
date	14/07/2022
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 her Department is taking which are specifically intended to help families with children in poverty in Stockton North.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	36757
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 10:05:58 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley previous answer version 13627 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

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