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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

1581682

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	Cost of Living
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support households facing hardship and debt as a result of the increased cost of living.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL5230
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2023 answer text <p>The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living this winter and is taking action to help. The Government's Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills by roughly a third. This is in addition to the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme, paid over six months starting in October 2022.</p><p> </p><p>For those who require additional support the current Household Support Fund, running in England from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, is providing £421 million of funding. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula.  The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.</p><p> </p><p>In 2023/24, subject to parliamentary approval, we are uprating all benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%, in order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels are also increasing by the same amount.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Further to this, the amended Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24.</p><p> </p><p>To further support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023 subject to parliamentary approval, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to ensuring staff who engage with customers identify and signpost customers to the financial support they require. We continue to work closely with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), which is an Arm’s Length Body of DWP, to identify and maximise all the touchpoints where it may be appropriate to signpost our customers to the expert financial help they need.</p><p> </p><p>We have also been working with MaPS to upskill some of our frontline staff to give them the confidence and skills to have those difficult and sensitive conversations with customers regarding their finances before signposting them to the most suitable organisation. This may be for help with budgeting and money management, or with debt. Customers contacting the Department’s Debt Management Team are routinely referred to this service.</p><p> </p><p>The Department has a well-established process for working with individuals to support them to manage repayment of Government debt to DWP. Our priority is to negotiate affordable and sustainable repayment plans that do not cause undue financial hardship. For overpayment deductions specifically, where a person feels they cannot afford the proposed rate of deduction for an overpayment recovery they are encouraged to contact the Department’s Debt Management Team to discuss a temporary reduction in their rate of repayment or, if necessary, a temporary cessation of the deduction may be considered. When a customer is notified of an overpayment, they are advised to contact us if they would struggle to make their repayment. Customers are also notified of deductions, giving them a further opportunity to contact us to negotiate a more affordable rate.</p><p> </p><p>There is no minimum amount that a customer has to pay, and we have recently extended the time period for any reduced payment to remain in place.</p><p> </p><p>We also remain committed to His Majesty’s Treasury’s Breathing 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 09/02/2023 14:50:31 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1581427

registered interest
date	26/01/2023
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	Cost of Living Payments
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide financial support to those most in need to assist with the increased cost of living.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL5159
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2023 answer text <p>The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living this winter and is taking action to help. The Government's Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills by roughly a third. This is in addition to the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme, paid over six months starting in October 2022.</p><p> </p><p>For those who require additional support the current Household Support Fund, running in England from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, is providing £421 million of funding. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula.  The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.</p><p> </p><p>In 2023/24, subject to parliamentary approval, we are uprating all benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%, in order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels are also increasing by the same amount.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Further to this, the amended Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24.</p><p> </p><p>To further support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023 subject to parliamentary approval, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 08/02/2023 16:36:58 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1565321

registered interest
date	09/01/2023
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	Low Incomes: Government Assistance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what further steps they are taking to provide cash support for low-income households.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL4598
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2023 answer text <p>The Government's Energy Price Guarantee will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what energy prices would have been under the current price cap - reducing bills by roughly a third.</p><p> </p><p>For those who require additional support the current Household Support Fund, running in England from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, is providing £421 million of funding. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula.</p><p> </p><p>The Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need to help with global inflationary challenges and the significantly rising cost of living. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>All benefit rates and State Pensions will increase in line with the Consumer Prices Index for the year to September 2022. This will mean that, subject to parliamentary approval, they will increase by 10.1% in April. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap will also be increased by 10.1% subject to parliamentary approval.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, for 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments of around £300 each across the 2023/24 financial year. A separate £300 payment will be made to over eight million pensioner households on top of their Winter Fuel Payments and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Further to this, the amended Energy Price Guarantee will save the average UK household £500 in 2023/24.</p><p> </p><p>To further support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023 subject to parliamentary approval, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 20/01/2023 14:32:44 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1563839

registered interest
date	21/12/2022
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	Poverty: Older People
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many older people they estimate are currently living in (1) relative, and (2) absolute, poverty.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL4509
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/01/2023 answer text <p>National Statistics on the number of pensioners with low income are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication and the latest available estimates are for 2020/21.</p><p> </p><p>The overall trend in the number of pensioners living in low income shows a fall over recent decades.</p><p>(1) In 2020/21, there were 1.9 million pensioners in relative low income, before housing costs. This is a fall of 200 thousand since 2009/10. In 2020/21, there were 1.7 million pensioners in relative low income, after housing costs. This is a fall of 100 thousand since 2009/10.</p><p>(2) In 2020/21, there were 1.5 million pensioners in absolute low income, before housing costs. This is a fall of 400 thousand since 2009/10. In 2020/21, there were 1.2 million pensioners in absolute low income, after housing costs. This is a fall of 400 thousand since 2009/10.</p><p>The Government is committed to action that helps to alleviate levels of pensioner poverty.</p><p> </p><p>In 2022/23, we will spend £134 billion on benefits for pensioners in GB, 5.4% of GDP. This includes £110 billion spending on the State Pension in 2022/23. Subject to Parliamentary approval in April 2023 the State Pension and the Pension Credit standard minimum guarantee will increase by 10.1%.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, to reduce the risk of poverty for future pensioners, automatic enrolment into workplace pensions has transformed pension participation for millions of workers. To date, over 10.8 million people have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, with over 2.1 million employers complying with their duties.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 10/01/2023 11:46:54 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1521526

registered interest
date	12/10/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Bank of England: Government Securities
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure market confidence in response to the Bank of England’s announcement that its emergency bond-buying intervention will end on Friday 14 October.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2568
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/10/2022 answer text <p>The Chancellor of The Exchequer on Monday 17 October brought forward a number of measures. These represent another down payment following the reversal of the corporation tax cut announced on Friday 14 October by the Prime Minister.</p><p> </p><p>Following conversations with the Prime Minister, the Chancellor has taken these decisions to ensure the UK’s economic stability and to provide confidence in the Government’s commitment to fiscal discipline. The Chancellor made clear in his statement that the UK’s public finances must be on a sustainable path into the medium term.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is prepared to act decisively and at scale to regain the country’s confidence and trust. The Chancellor stated in his speech that there will be more difficult decisions to take on both tax and spending. This means doing what is needed to lower debt in the medium term and to ensure that taxpayers’ money is well spent, putting public finances on a sustainable footing.</p><p> </p><p>In light of this, Government departments will be asked to find efficiencies within their budgets. The Chancellor will publish the government’s fiscal rules alongside an OBR forecast, and further measures to put the public finances on a sustainable footing, on 31 October.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 25/10/2022 13:04:07 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1520187

registered interest
date	10/10/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Mortgages: Interest Rates
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to support working families given rising mortgage rates.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2456
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2022 answer text <p>Around 75% of residential mortgage borrowers are on fixed-rate deals and are therefore shielded from interest rate rises in the short term.</p><p> </p><p>However, the Government has already taken immediate action to help all households through the Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bills Support Scheme. This is in addition to the £37 billion of targeted support for the cost of living this financial year.</p><p> </p><p>When mortgage borrowers are in financial difficulty and struggling to pay their mortgage, Financial Conduct Authority guidance requires firms to provide support through tailored forbearance options. This could include measures such as a payment holiday, partial payment, or an extension of mortgage term.</p><p><em> </em></p><p>The Government has also taken a number of measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest loans for those in receipt of an income-related benefit, and protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, which makes it clear that repossession must always be the last resort for lenders.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 20/10/2022 11:04:16 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1505813

registered interest
date	07/09/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Hospitality Industry: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce an emergency financial support package for the hospitality sector.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2287
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>The Government appreciates that many businesses are exposed to increased energy costs, driven by global factors.</p><p>The new Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBSS), unveiled on 21 September, will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for businesses, including those in the hospitality sectors. This will apply to fixed term contracts – agreed on or after 1 April 2022 – as well as deemed, variable and flexible tariffs and contracts. The guarantee will apply to energy usage from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, and this support will be automatically applied to bills.</p><p>The Growth Plan (2022) fulfilled the Government’s commitments to cut taxes and set the direction for regulatory reform. The planned rise in the rate of Corporation Tax will not go ahead and the Annual Investment Allowance will be permanently set at £1 million, freeing businesses to invest and grow. The reduction in the rate of National Insurance will make it cheaper for businesses to employ staff and pay higher wages; and reforms to Universal Credit will ensure claimants are supported to seek more and better paid work. In the coming weeks, the Government will set out further supply side reforms which will promote growth and ease the burden on businesses.</p><p>This is in addition to the 50% business rates relief for eligible hospitality businesses, and the increased Employment Allowance worth up to £5,000.</p><p>The Government has taken action to protect businesses from soaring energy costs and provided them with the certainty they need to plan, invest, and grow.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 28/09/2022 14:19:33 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1505814

registered interest
date	07/09/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Small Businesses: National Insurance Contributions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to temporarily reverse national insurance contributions for small and medium sized enterprises.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2288
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/09/2022 answer text <p>The Government announced on 22 September that it will be reversing the Health and Social Care Levy. This will provide a tax cut for the 60 per cent (920,000) of businesses who pay National Insurance contributions (NICs) bills by an average of £9,600 in 2023-24. 20,000 businesses will be taken out of paying NICs entirely.</p><p> </p><p>The other 40 per cent of businesses already pay no NICs as a result of the Employment Allowance (EA). In April 2022, the Government increased the EA, a relief which allows eligible businesses to reduce their employer NICs bills each year, from £4,000 to £5,000.</p><p> </p><p>This means that businesses and charities who had employer NICs bills of £100,000 or less in the previous tax year are able to claim up to £5,000 off their employer NICs bills. As a result, eligible businesses are able to employ 4 full-time employees on the National Living Wage without paying any employer NICs. 94 per cent of businesses that benefitted from this change were small and micro businesses.</p><p>The Government also recognises that many businesses are exposed to increased energy costs driven by global factors. The Government has announced new support for households, businesses and public sector organisations facing rising energy bills in Great Britain and Northern Ireland – supporting growth, preventing unnecessary insolvencies and protecting jobs.</p><p>Through a new Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the Government will provide a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices for all non-domestic customers (including all UK businesses, the voluntary sector like charities and the public sector such as schools and hospitals) whose current gas and electricity prices have been significantly inflated in light of global energy prices. This support will be equivalent to the Energy Price Guarantee put in place for households.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 28/09/2022 14:40:19 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1504872

registered interest
date	05/09/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Energy: Housing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to remove the VAT on household energy bills.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL2189
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2022 answer text <p>The Government has announced a new ‘Energy Price Guarantee’ to limit the price suppliers can charge customers for units of gas and electricity. This will save the average household £1,000 a year based on current energy prices from October.</p><p> </p><p>In recognition of the fact that families should not have to bear all of the VAT costs they incur to meet their needs, domestic fuels such as gas, electricity and heating oil are already subject to the reduced rate of VAT at 5 per cent.</p> answering member printed Viscount Younger of Leckie question first answered 22/09/2022 09:49:21 answering member 4169 label Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick