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1600567

registered interest
date	01/03/2023
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	Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many households in England are affected by the under-occupancy charge for (1) one extra bedroom, or (2) more than one extra bedroom; and what assessment they have made of the financial impact of these deductions on those households.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL6023
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2023 answer text <p>For the latest data available, related to September 2022, 286,149 households were subject to the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS) for 1 extra bedroom, and 63,759 for 2 or more extra bedrooms. This data is available on Stat-Xplore.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>For 2021/22, a total of £434m worth of deductions were made for RSRS in Great Britain. This includes households on Universal Credit and Housing Benefit. No wider assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>The RSRS policy applies to claims for housing support - either Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit - where the claimant is living in the social rented sector in a property that is deemed too large for their needs.</p><p> </p><p>The policy helps encourage mobility within the social rented sector to make better use of the existing social housing stock and strengthens work-incentives. An additional bedroom is allowed in certain circumstances such as for disabled people and carers, foster carers, and parents of service personnel. Additionally, those in receipt of pension age housing benefit are exempt.</p><p> </p><p>Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP’s) are available for those who need additional support with housing costs. Since 2011 we have provided nearly £1.6 billion in DHP’s to local authorities.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 09/03/2023 12:33:58 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1599687

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
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	Food Banks
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish their evidence review on the drivers of food bank usage; and whether they have considered the potential merits of including the need to use a food bank, alongside undue hardship, in the criteria which may exempt claimants from having deductions taken from their universal credit claim.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL5910
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/03/2023 answer text <p>The Department reallocated resources to prioritise work to help the COVID-19 effort. This caused delays to some work, including this literature review. The department has subsequently decided not to restart the review, as it summarises publicly available information and does not contain any new research carried out by the Department. However, we continue to monitor new research and evidence produced by external organisations.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has recently published new data from the Family Resources Survey on household food security, giving us a better understanding of who is most at risk. We have also included new questions in the family resources survey for 2021/2 which will be published in March 2023 and further expand our evidence in this area. This underlines how seriously we take the issue of food insecurity.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the importance of supporting claimants to manage their liabilities. Under Universal Credit, there is a co-ordinated approach to deductions from benefit, which supports claimants to manage their financial obligations. The primary aim of deductions in Universal Credit is to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of essential services. We continue to aim to strike the right balance between ensuring those protections are in place and allowing claimants to retain as much of their award as possible for day-to-day needs.</p><p> </p><p>There has been no specific consideration around the merits of including food bank usage when considering claimants for an exception from deductions. However, if a claimant is struggling financially, they can ask for the amount of the following deductions to be reconsidered:</p><ul><li>Repaying benefit overpayments,</li><li>Social Fund loan; and</li><li>rent arrears.</li></ul><p> </p><p>For benefit overpayments and Social Fund loans, deductions can be reduced or deferred for a period. DWP will always try to ensure that Government debt is recovered effectively without causing undue hardship.</p><p> </p><p>For rent arrears, claimants can ask Universal Credit staff to exercise their discretion to fix rent arrears deductions at the lowest rate in legislation – 10% of the Standard Allowance. This can be done using the Journal or by phone. However, staff would not agree to remove a rent arrears deduction entirely in order to ensure a claimant is protected from eviction.</p><p> </p><p>For those repaying a New Claim Advance, a deferral of up to 3 months is available, in exceptional circumstances, which allow those claimants to temporarily receive their Universal Credit awards without advance repayments being deducted.</p><p> </p><p>We encourage anyone unable to afford the proposed rate of repayment to contact DWP Debt Management at the earliest opportunity - all DWP notifications advise how to get in touch. We seek to do as much as we are able to support claimants through the recovery of their overpayments.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 09/03/2023 12:36:43 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1587278

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many universal credit claims were subject to deductions in the most recent month for which data are available, broken down by parliamentary constituency; how much was the (1) total, and (2) average, sum of deductions in each constituency; and what proportion of those sums was deducted to repay advance payments.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL5652
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2023 answer text <p>The Government recognises the importance of supporting the welfare of claimants who have incurred debt. We seek to balance recovery of debt against not causing hardship for claimants and their families. Processes are in place to ensure deductions are manageable, and customers can contact the DWP Debt Management Team if they are experiencing financial hardship, to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment, or a temporary suspension, depending on their financial circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Since April 2021, we have reduced the normal maximum rate of deductions in Universal Credit from 40% to 25% of a claimant’s Standard Allowance. These positive measures were put in place to support claimants to manage financial difficulties.</p><p> </p><p>Advances are a claimant’s benefit entitlement paid early, allowing claimants to access 100% of their estimated Universal Credit payment upfront. They ensure nobody has to wait for a payment in Universal Credit, and those who need it are able to receive financial support as soon as possible. Claimants can receive up to 100% of their estimated Universal Credit award if required, resulting in 25 payments over a 24-month period. This is not a debt.</p><p> </p><p>The requested analysis of Universal Credit claims with a deduction in November 2022 by parliamentary constituency in Great Britain (GB) is provided in the separate spreadsheet.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 03/03/2023 13:26:17 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie attachment 1 file name Spreadsheet.xls title Spreadsheet HL5652
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1587279

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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	Social Security Benefits: Disqualification
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many benefit claims were subject to sanctions in the most recent three months for which data are available, broken down by parliamentary constituency; and how much was the (1) total, and (2) average, sum of benefit income lost by claimants due to sanctions in each constituency.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL5653
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2023 answer text <p>The latest monthly statistics, taken from Stat-Xplore, on the number of Universal Credit full service claimants with a payment that has been reduced due to a sanction, by Westminster parliamentary constituency, for September to November 2022, are provided in the attached spreadsheet.</p><p> </p><p>The additional information requested for (1) and (2) is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Sanctions are only ever applied when a claimant fails to meet their agreed conditionality requirements without good reason.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 06/03/2023 16:09:15 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie attachment 1 file name Attachment.xlsx title Attachment
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1587282

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many universal credit claimants requested a deductions waiver in the most recent six months for which data is available; of those requests, what proportion were successful; and whether all universal credit claimants subject to a deduction are automatically informed of their option to seek a waiver.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL5655
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2023 answer text <p>During the last 6-month period ending January 2023, 94 Universal Credit claimants had asked for their debts to be waived. Of these, 14 cases were fully waived and a further 5 cases were partially waived.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst Universal Credit claimants are not automatically informed of their option to seek a waiver, anyone who feels they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery is encouraged to contact the department to discuss their situation.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP remains committed to working with anyone who is struggling with their repayment terms and has a well-established process for working with individuals to support them to manage their debts.</p><p> </p><p>Our agents will always look to negotiate affordable and sustainable repayment plans. This includes working with individuals to review their financial circumstances. In most instances, a temporary reduction in their rate of repayment can also be agreed. There is no minimum amount that a claimant has to pay. Other options agents can consider where appropriate is to suspend repayments or refer a case for consideration of waiver.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, customers are routinely referred to the Money Advisor Network, who work in partnership with the DWP to offer free independent and impartial money and debt advice. We also remain committed to His Majesty’s Treasury’s Beathing Space policy, which provides those with problem debt the right to legal protections from creditor action for a period of 60 days to enable them to receive debt advice and enter into an appropriate debt solution.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 06/03/2023 16:44:05 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1587283

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many universal credit claimants were subject to deductions as a result of overpayments where the fault lay entirely with the relevant government department or agency, in the most recent month for which figures are available.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL5656
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2023 answer text <p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>The statistics also 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%. We do not collect data on how many of these overpayments were detected or subsequently recovered. See:</p><p> </p><p><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></p><p> </p><p>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.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 06/03/2023 16:47:00 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1587285

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered the potential merits of including the need to use a food bank, alongside undue hardship, in the criteria which may exempt claimants from having deductions taken from their universal credit claim.
tabling member printed	Lord Field of Birkenhead
uin	HL5657
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2023 answer text <p>There has been no specific consideration around the merits of including food bank usage when considering claimants for an exception from deductions.</p><p> </p><p>The Government recognises the importance of supporting claimants to manage their liabilities. Under Universal Credit, there is a co-ordinated approach to deductions from benefit, which supports claimants to manage their financial obligations. The primary aim of deductions in Universal Credit is to protect vulnerable claimants by providing a last resort repayment method for arrears of essential services. We continue to aim to strike the right balance between ensuring those protections are in place, and allowing claimants to retain as much of their award as possible for day-to-day needs.</p><p> </p><p>If a claimant is struggling financially, they can ask for the amount of certain deductions to be reconsidered. Financial hardship decisions are made for any of the following:</p><ul><li>Repaying benefit overpayments,</li><li>Social Fund loan; and</li><li>Rent arrears.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Benefit debts and Social Fund loans can see deductions reduced and/or deferred. The DWP will always try to ensure that Government debt is recovered effectively without causing undue hardship.</p><p> </p><p>For those repaying a New Claim Advance, a deferral of up to 3 months is available, in exceptional circumstances, which allow those claimants to temporarily receive their Universal Credit awards without advance repayments being deducted.</p><p> </p><p>For rent arrears, claimants can ask Universal Credit staff to exercise their discretion to fix rent arrears deductions at the lowest rate in legislation – 10% of the Standard Allowance. This can be done using the Journal or by telephone. However, UC staff would not agree to remove a rent arrears deduction entirely to ensure a claimant is protected from eviction.</p><p> </p><p>We encourage anyone unable to afford the proposed rate of repayment to contact DWP Debt Management at the earliest opportunity - all DWP notifications advise how to get in touch. We seek to do as much as we are able to support claimants through the recovery of their overpayments.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 03/03/2023 13:27:40 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

1587305

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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: Social Security Benefits
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the press statement by the Department for Work and Pensions on 27 January 2022, what assumptions were made (including regarding family type) to inform the statement that "people are at least £6,000 better off in full time work than on benefits".
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL5691
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2023 answer text <p>The actual amount an individual could gain from work depends on wage rates, the number of hours worked and family circumstances, such as having children, and whether the claimant receives the UC housing element.</p><p> </p><p>The main assumption the Department used was that people earn the minimum wage of £9.50 an hour and that full time work is 35 hours a week. The Department’s publication <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1076130/completing-the-move-to-universal-credit.pdf" target="_blank">Completing the Move to Universal Credit (publishing.service.gov.uk)</a> shows that:</p><p> </p><ul><li>A single claimant with housing costs and no children would have a net income of nearly £7k more a year (if they did not have housing costs the gain would be higher)</li><li>A single claimant with 2 children with housing costs would have a net income of over £9k a year more</li><li>A couple with 2 children with housing costs (if they both worked full time compared to both not working) would have a higher net income of over £17k a year.</li></ul> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 06/03/2023 16:46:19 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1587376

registered interest
date	20/02/2023
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	Access to Work Programme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 14 February (HL5193), whether that figure includes (1) claims made within a person's Access to Work agreement, and (2) new claims for a new job where the claimant received Access to Work support in their previous employment.
tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
uin	HL5641
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2023 answer text <p>The figure provided on 14<sup>th</sup> February (HL5193) is inclusive of both, claims made within a person’s Access to Work agreement and new claims for a new job where the claimant received Access to Work support in their previous employment.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 03/03/2023 12:54:23 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1585188

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	Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to automatically enrol workers who are (1) low paid, or (2) aged under 22, into a workplace pension scheme, given the increased cost of living.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL5528
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2023 answer text <p>The 2017 Review of Automatic Enrolment (AE) sets out our ambition to remove the Lower Earnings Limit so that pension contributions are payable from the first pound of earnings and reduce the qualifying age for AE to 18. This will help young people and lower earners, including many women, to build financial resilience through generating more meaningful retirement savings.</p><p>We remain committed to the implementation of the 2017 Review ambitions in the mid-2020s.</p><p>We have always been clear that changes to the AE framework would be made in a way and at a time that is affordable, balancing the needs of savers, employers and taxpayers.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 21/02/2023 11:51:06 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick