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1358403

registered interest
date	04/10/2021
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	Employment: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to support (1) people living with stage 5 kidney disease, and (2) severely immunosuppressed people in the workplace, given recently published data show these groups are not adequately protected following two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
uin	HL2854
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2021 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Peer to the answer given to his previous question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-07-15/hl2092" target="_blank">HL2092</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Throughout the pandemic, HSE has encouraged businesses to manage risks in order to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in workplaces through the provision of detailed guidance. HSE published updated guidance on 19<sup>th</sup> July to reflect changes as a result of the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in England <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/roadmap-further-guidance.htm" target="_blank">Keeping workplaces safe as coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions are removed (hse.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>HSE does not consider vaccination of employees to be a workplace control. Businesses must control the risks and review and update their risk assessment to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 by providing adequate ventilation, regular cleaning and frequent handwashing. Businesses can also continue to reduce the risk of transmission during the pandemic by taking measures to limit the number of people their workers are in contact with, and UK government guidance on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-covid-19" target="_blank">working safely</a> provides further information and advice on these measures covering a range of different types of work.</p><p> </p><p>Employers’ health and safety responsibilities include taking reasonable steps to protect all workers and others from the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in connection with their work activities. As these control measures apply to all workers, regardless of their relative levels of vulnerability or the potential outcome, there are no expectations of additional control measures for Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) workers or the need for individual risk assessments.</p><p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises employers to have individual discussions with their CEV employees about any workplace concerns and understand what is in place to protect them. There is specific guidance on the HSE website to support employers to do this <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/working-safely/protect-people.htm" target="_blank">https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/working-safely/protect-people.htm</a></p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott grouped question UIN HL2855 HL2856 question first answered 19/10/2021 14:55:14 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

1358405

registered interest
date	04/10/2021
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	Employment: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what information and guidance they will provide to employers on how best to protect people who are severely immunosuppressed and may not mount an adequate immune response to the COVID-19 vaccine.
tabling member printed	Lord Mendelsohn
uin	HL2856
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2021 answer text <p>I refer the hon. Peer to the answer given to his previous question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2021-07-15/hl2092" target="_blank">HL2092</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Throughout the pandemic, HSE has encouraged businesses to manage risks in order to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in workplaces through the provision of detailed guidance. HSE published updated guidance on 19<sup>th</sup> July to reflect changes as a result of the lifting of coronavirus restrictions in England <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/roadmap-further-guidance.htm" target="_blank">Keeping workplaces safe as coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions are removed (hse.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>HSE does not consider vaccination of employees to be a workplace control. Businesses must control the risks and review and update their risk assessment to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 by providing adequate ventilation, regular cleaning and frequent handwashing. Businesses can also continue to reduce the risk of transmission during the pandemic by taking measures to limit the number of people their workers are in contact with, and UK government guidance on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-covid-19" target="_blank">working safely</a> provides further information and advice on these measures covering a range of different types of work.</p><p> </p><p>Employers’ health and safety responsibilities include taking reasonable steps to protect all workers and others from the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in connection with their work activities. As these control measures apply to all workers, regardless of their relative levels of vulnerability or the potential outcome, there are no expectations of additional control measures for Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) workers or the need for individual risk assessments.</p><p>The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) advises employers to have individual discussions with their CEV employees about any workplace concerns and understand what is in place to protect them. There is specific guidance on the HSE website to support employers to do this <a href="https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/working-safely/protect-people.htm" target="_blank">https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/working-safely/protect-people.htm</a></p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott grouped question UIN HL2854 HL2855 question first answered 19/10/2021 14:55:14 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4286 label Biography information for Lord Mendelsohn

1358444

registered interest
date	04/10/2021
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	Universal Credit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what impact assessment they carried out ahead of the cessation of the Universal Credit uplift on 6 October.
tabling member printed	Lord Roberts of Llandudno
uin	HL2873
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2021 answer text <p>No Impact Assessment has been made of ending the Universal Credit Uplift, as it was always intended to be temporary.</p><p> </p><p>The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.</p><p> </p><p>There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work.</p><p> </p><p>Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; we have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job; and introduced Restart which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year. Our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people.</p><p>We recognise that some people continue to require extra support, which is why we have introduced a £421 million Household Support Fund to help vulnerable people in England with essential household costs over the winter as the economy recovers. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving around £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 18/10/2021 13:01:36 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	3691 label Biography information for Lord Roberts of Llandudno

1357848

registered interest
date	23/09/2021
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	State Retirement Pensions: Kilmarnock and Loudoun
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many State Pensions are being assessed by her Department as possible cases of underpayment in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency as at 23 September 2021.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	53947
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2021 answer text <p>The information requested is not available.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 19/10/2021 14:17:17 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1357949

registered interest
date	23/09/2021
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	Universal Credit: County Durham
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 effect of the removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit on the number of people in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty in County Durham.
tabling member constituency	City of Durham
tabling member printed	Mary Kelly Foy
uin	54012
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2021 answer text <p>No such assessments have been made of the effect of ending the £20 uplift on the numbers of people living in poverty in County Durham or Barnsley East.</p><p>It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the impact of removing the £20 uplift on poverty. This is due to the uncertainty around the speed and distribution of the economic recovery, and the resulting effect on the caseload.</p><p>The latest poverty figures (2019/20) demonstrate that absolute poverty rates (both before and after housing costs) have fallen since 2009/10. In 2019/20, 14% of people were in absolute poverty (before housing costs), compared to 16% in 2009/10.</p><p>There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into 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.</p><p>This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, and continues to do so through many measures, including by increasing the living wage, and by spending over £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22.</p><p>We recognise that some people continue to require extra support, which is why we have introduced a £421 million Household Support Fund to help vulnerable people in England with essential household costs over the winter as the economy recovers. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving around £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 53991 question first answered 18/10/2021 13:20:03 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4753 label Biography information for Mary Kelly Foy

1357950

registered interest
date	23/09/2021
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	Universal Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment she has made of the potential effect of the removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit on (a) disabled people and their families and (b) people who are not living with a disability.
tabling member constituency	City of Durham
tabling member printed	Mary Kelly Foy
uin	54013
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2021 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>No such assessment has been made of the potential effect of the removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit on disabled people and their families or people who are not living with a disability.</p><p> </p><p>The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.</p><p> </p><p>There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work.</p><p> </p><p>Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; we have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job; and introduced Restart which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year. Our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people and we are also keen to see disabled people progress in work, with support from existing programmes such as Work and Health Programme and Intensive Employment Support Programme. Over the last 8 years the number of disabled people in employment has increased by 1.5m.</p><p> </p><p>We have seen strong growth in the number and rate of disabled people in employment and Universal Credit claimants with health conditions or disabilities who, following the outcome of a work capability assessment, are determined to have limited capability for work and work related activity – meaning they are not required to look for work or to prepare for work – are awarded an additional amount of benefit, currently £343.63 per month.</p><p>We recognise that some people continue to require extra support, which is why we have introduced a £421 million Household Support Fund to help vulnerable people in England with essential household costs over the winter as the economy recovers. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving around £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/10/2021 15:08:29 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4753 label Biography information for Mary Kelly Foy

1357970

registered interest
date	23/09/2021
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	Social Security Benefits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what definition her Department uses to classify social security claimants as vulnerable; what method is used to identify those claimants; and how that information is recorded.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
uin	54017
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2021 answer text <p>The Department does not identify or record claimants as ‘vulnerable’ or ‘not vulnerable’. However, we often need to consider a customer’s particular circumstances to provide the right service or ensure appropriate support. Where a staff member recognises that a customer has particular needs which should be flagged within their case file, they can do this by recording relevant information on the appropriate customer profile record. For example, in Universal Credit, complex needs information is recorded in profile notes within the claimant history.</p><p> </p><p>In 2019 we created a central team in the Customer Experience Directorate who focus on supporting customers who require advanced support. We have also appointed over 30 regional Advanced Customer Support Senior Leaders across Great Britain; their role is to provide targeted support to customers who most need it.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/10/2021 16:14:10 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1357971

registered interest
date	23/09/2021
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	Local Housing Allowance: 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 assessment she has made of the adequacy of local housing allowance rates in Wales.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	53838
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2021 answer text <p>No such assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>In April 2020 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates were increased to the 30th percentile of local rents. This investment of nearly £1 billion provided 1.5 million claimants with an average of £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received.</p><p>We have maintained Local Housing Allowance rates at the same cash level for 2021/22. For example, the two-bedroom LHA rate in the North West Wales Broad Rental Market Area increased by over £50 a month.</p><p> </p><p>For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments are available. Since 2011 we have provided over £1 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments funding. We have allocated a further £140 million for Discretionary Housing Payments for 2021/22 in England and Wales.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 53839 question first answered 18/10/2021 14:24:25 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1357972

registered interest
date	23/09/2021
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	Local Housing Allowance: Wales
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 merits of raising Local Housing Allowance rates in Wales on an annual basis to improve access to housing for people claiming Housing Benefit or the housing element of universal credit.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	53839
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2021 answer text <p>No such assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>In April 2020 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates were increased to the 30th percentile of local rents. This investment of nearly £1 billion provided 1.5 million claimants with an average of £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received.</p><p>We have maintained Local Housing Allowance rates at the same cash level for 2021/22. For example, the two-bedroom LHA rate in the North West Wales Broad Rental Market Area increased by over £50 a month.</p><p> </p><p>For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments are available. Since 2011 we have provided over £1 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments funding. We have allocated a further £140 million for Discretionary Housing Payments for 2021/22 in England and Wales.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley grouped question UIN 53838 question first answered 18/10/2021 14:24:25 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams

1357999

registered interest
date	23/09/2021
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	Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit
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 effect of increased energy prices on people in receipt of working tax credits and universal credit following the end of the £20 uplift.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	53966
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/10/2021 answer text <p>The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.</p><p>There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work.</p><p>Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; we have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job; and introduced Restart which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year. Our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people.</p><p>We recognise that some people continue to require extra support, which is why we have introduced a £421 million Household Support Fund to help vulnerable people in England with essential household costs over the winter as the economy recovers. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.</p><p>The Cold Weather Payment scheme also helps vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits to meet the additional costs of heating during periods of severe cold weather. Cold Weather Payments are targeted at those in receipt of eligible benefits with a pension element or disability component or where there is a child under five in the household.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 18/10/2021 16:32:46 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell