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1487673

registered interest
date	08/07/2022
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	Universal Credit
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of recipients of universal credit discouraged from taking employment by the low level of net financial benefit from being employed due to associated costs, such as transport and childcare, known as the "benefit trap".
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL1592
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2022 answer text <p>No such assessment has been undertaken.</p><p> </p><p>UC recipients in work now benefit from a reduction in the UC taper rate from 63% to 55%, and for those eligible customers an increase in the work allowance by £500 per year meaning that working households will be able to keep more of what they earn and strengthening incentives to move into and progress in work.</p><p> </p><p>The National Living Wage has risen from £8.91 to £9.50 an hour from 1 April. That means a pay rise for millions of the country’s lowest paid workers – worth an increase of over £1,000 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the National Living Wage.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is aware that for some UC claimants’ childcare costs presents challenges to entering employment. To support parents to become financially resilient by moving into work and progressing in work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month regardless of the number of hours they work, compared to 70% in Tax Credits. This is up to the maximum amount of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. For families with two children, this could be worth over £13,000 a year.</p><p> </p><p>This support is available to all lone parents and couples, regardless of the number of hours they work. For couples, both parents need to be in paid work to be eligible unless one of the allowable exceptions is met.</p><p> </p><p>The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer in England and there are similar funded early learning offers in devolved nations. The Free Childcare offer provides 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3- and 4-year old’s and disadvantaged 2 year old’s, doubling for working parents of 3 and 4 year old’s to 30 hours a week.</p><p> </p><p>The UC childcare element can be used to top up a claimant’s eligible free childcare hours if more hours are worked and childcare required. This offer means that for some claimants’ childcare costs should not present any barriers to entering work.</p><p> </p><p>UC claimants who need help with upfront childcare costs to enter employment or significantly increase their working hours can apply for help from the Flexible Support Fund (FSF). This is a non-repayable payment that will pay their initial childcare costs directly to the provider up to the first salary received.</p><p> </p><p>In order to achieve our long-term goals of driving up productivity and levelling up, we are supporting people in work to ensure they have the right skills and opportunities to progress out of low pay. Through providing right infrastructure we will support an ambitious and productive workforce suited to meet the UK’s future demand.</p><p> </p><p>Through a staged rollout from April 2022 onwards, 2.1m low paid Universal Credit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher paid work. This will be provided by work coaches and focus on career progression advice, such as considering skills gaps, identifying training opportunities, or looking for opportunities for the claimant to progress in their current role or in a new role. Jobcentres will be supported in this new role by a network of 37 Progression Champions across Great Britain who will spearhead the scheme. They will work with partners to address local barriers that limit progression, such as transport and childcare.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 22/07/2022 10:09:39 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1455630

registered interest
date	29/03/2022
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	Birds of Prey: Poisoning
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of relaxing regulations regarding the use of the rodenticide brodifacoum, particularly in the light of the poisoning of a white-tailed eagle in Dorset.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7411
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/04/2022 answer text <p>The Regulation controlling the use of brodifacoum was established by a European Union (EU) implementing regulation in 2017 and has remained unchanged in Great Britain following the United Kingdom’s (UK) departure from the EU on 31 January 2020.</p><p> </p><p>A stewardship regime is in place in the UK for professional use of second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides (SGARs) including brodifacoum. A cornerstone of the stewardship scheme is the <a href="https://www.thinkwildlife.org/code-of-best-practice/crru-code/" target="_blank">Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU) Code of Best Practice</a>, which sets out guidance on the safe use of rodenticides. It is a legal requirement to comply with this code. Risk hierarchy is central to the code, which clearly states that SGARs including Brodifacoum present the greatest risk to non-target species and the environment, so they should be the last option after all other types of control have been carefully considered. The scheme also supports the <a href="https://pbms.ceh.ac.uk/content/pbms-reports" target="_blank">monitoring of exposure of barn owls and red kites to SGARs</a> (as a sentinel species) led by the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.</p><p> </p><p>The stewardship scheme is overseen by a Government Oversight Group (GOG) led by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) with representatives of other government stakeholders. The GOG meets annually to assess the impact of the Stewardship scheme. This year the GOG is conducting a review of the stewardship scheme after five years of operation and will publish its findings in due course.</p><p> </p><p>Natural England continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident to which the Noble Lady refers, in partnership with HSE.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 06/04/2022 14:55:54 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1453811

registered interest
date	23/03/2022
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	State Retirement Pensions: Yemen
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people in Yemen entitled to a UK state pension are not receiving payments.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7255
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/04/2022 answer text <p>We estimate that around 1,170 people in Yemen who are entitled to a UK State Pension are not receiving payments.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Source:</strong> DWP internal management information, based on clerical estimates as at 23 March 2022.</p><p><strong>Note:</strong> This management information has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics but has been provided here in the interests of transparency.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 06/04/2022 11:34:55 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1453422

registered interest
date	22/03/2022
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: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, what assessment they have made of the report Covid Realities: documenting life on a low income during the pandemic, published on 24 January; what assessment they have made of the finding in that report that support for people in poverty should, whenever possible, be provided in cash; and what plans they have to change the guidance to local authorities on assistance provided through the Household Support Fund.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL7190
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/04/2022 answer text <p>No assessment has been made.</p><p> </p><p>We have no current plans to change our guidance for the Household Support Fund on this matter. Local Authorities have the flexibility to design local schemes under the Household Support Fund that best meet local needs within the parameters set out in the guidance. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/household-support-fund-guidance-for-local-councils/household-support-fund-final-guidance-for-county-councils-and-unitary-authorities-in-england" target="_blank">Household Support Fund: final guidance for County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>(paragraph 90).</p><p>The guidance does not prevent Councils from issuing cash to households in need of emergency support.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 05/04/2022 16:34:06 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1436316

registered interest
date	28/02/2022
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	Workplace Pensions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) pension products are available for automatic enrolment pensions; what assessment they have made of the impact of financial services regulations on the number of ESG pension products available for automatic enrolment pensions; and what steps they are taking to increase the number of ESG pension products available for automatic enrolment purposes.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL6479
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2022 answer text <p>The department has introduced ESG-related legislation, including regulations aligned with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), requiring trustees to consider, assess and report on the financial risks of climate change within their portfolios.</p><p> </p><p>These measures go beyond merely reporting a climate policy and how it is implemented. They require trustees to put in place climate-related governance and risk management, to assess the impact of climate change on their investment strategy, to conduct scenario analysis, to set targets.</p><p> </p><p>This means that automatic enrolment schemes will be encouraged to consider climate-related risks and opportunities, and this is likely to influence their choice of products in their portfolio. The Government thinks that ESG factors and their impact should be taken into consideration where financially material, but the process of investing in individual products is down to the market and trustees working within their fiduciary duty.</p><p> </p><p>I recognise the risk of ‘greenwashing’, where investors can be misled on the quality of a product described as being an ESG product and this must be tackled. To aid trustees in their decisions, the department participates in an advisory group which supports the Financial Conduct Authority in developing their proposed requirements that certain investment products display a label reflecting their sustainability characteristics.</p><p> </p><p>Recent research carried out by Corporate Advisor in their ‘ESG in DC Pensions’ report found that 19 out of 21 pension providers surveyed deploy ESG tilts or screening overlays on their default funds excluding specific companies or sectors with poor ESG ratings<sup><sup>[1]</sup></sup>. The report found that three years ago, just five master trust defaults took this approach, suggesting that schemes are increasingly turning to ESG-related products. I believe the steps the department has taken to put in place the regulatory framework for consideration of ESG factors will have contributed to the uptake here.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 11/03/2022 14:38:48 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1436060

registered interest
date	25/02/2022
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	Social Security Benefits: Disability
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the change over the last three years in the level of disability-related benefits that were paid weekly to individuals; and what consideration, if any, they have given to removing the requirement to justify the use of that payment.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL6436
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2022 answer text <p>The information requested is in the table below.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Personal Independence Payment</p></td><td><p>2019/20 (£)</p></td><td><p>2020/21 (£)</p></td><td><p>2021/22 (£)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Daily living component</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Enhanced</p></td><td><p>87.65</p></td><td><p>89.15</p></td><td><p>89.60</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Standard</p></td><td><p>58.70</p></td><td><p>59.70</p></td><td><p>60.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mobility component</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Enhanced</p></td><td><p>61.20</p></td><td><p>62.25</p></td><td><p>62.55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Standard</p></td><td><p>23.20</p></td><td><p>23.60</p></td><td><p>23.70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Disability Living Allowance</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Care component</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Highest</p></td><td><p>87.65</p></td><td><p>89.15</p></td><td><p>89.60</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Middle</p></td><td><p>58.70</p></td><td><p>59.70</p></td><td><p>60.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Lowest</p></td><td><p>23.20</p></td><td><p>23.60</p></td><td><p>23.70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mobility component</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Higher</p></td><td><p>61.20</p></td><td><p>62.25</p></td><td><p>62.55</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Lower</p></td><td><p>23.20</p></td><td><p>23.60</p></td><td><p>23.70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Attendance Allowance</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Higher rate</p></td><td><p>87.65</p></td><td><p>89.15</p></td><td><p>89.60</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Lower rate</p></td><td><p>58.70</p></td><td><p>59.70</p></td><td><p>60.00</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The benefit rates are published annually on <a href="http://www.gov.UK" target="_blank">www.gov.UK</a> and can be located by searching for “benefit and pension rates”.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment are intended to act as a contribution towards the extra costs that arise as a result of a long-term health condition or disability. Claimants are free to use their payments in whatever way they want and according to their own priorities and needs. These benefits can also be used as a gateway to other benefits to assist in their income and day to day lives.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 07/03/2022 16:42:47 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1386795

registered interest
date	09/12/2021
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: Self-employed
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the (1) number, and (2) percentage, of Universal Credit recipients whose payments are affected by the minimum income floor for self-employed people.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL4822
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/12/2021 answer text <p>In September 2021, the latest month for which there is available data, there were around 4,000 gainfully self-employed Universal Credit (UC) recipients not in a start-up period and earning below the minimum income floor. This is 1% of all self-employed UC recipients, and 0.1% of all UC claimants.</p><p> </p><p>This number will likely change significantly over the coming year as we gradually reintroduce our pre-pandemic processes for the self-employed, many of whom claimed while the minimum income floor was suspend</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 22/12/2021 10:44:18 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1349802

registered interest
date	22/07/2021
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 Schemes: Internet
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that jobseekers being supported through Department for Work and Pensions programmes have been referred to websites that advise them to state in job interviews that climate change may not exist; and what steps they plan to take as a result.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL2287
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2021 answer text <p>This was content provided by a third party supplier and was designed to help individuals understand that they can acknowledge different points of view when answering questions. The choice of “global warming” as an example subject was not appropriate and the content has been removed.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 27/07/2021 14:36:10 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1349316

registered interest
date	21/07/2021
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: Disability
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 8 June (HL Deb, col 1312), what assessment they have made of the report by Z2K #PeopleBeforeProcess, published on 25 May; and what steps they plan to take as a result.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL2249
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/07/2021 answer text <p>The Government acknowledges the report by Z2K published in May 2021 and will consider its findings as part of our consultation on the Health &amp; Disability Green Paper, published on 20 July. The Green Paper explores how the benefits system can better meet people’s needs now and in the future by improving people’s experience of our services, enabling independent living and improving employment outcomes.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to improving the lives of disabled people and yesterday published the National Disability Strategy. The strategy takes into account the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on disabled people and focuses on the issues that disabled people say affect them the most in all aspects of life.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 29/07/2021 14:52:04 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1276932

registered interest
date	14/01/2021
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	Ventilation: Coronavirus
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 4 November 2020 (HL9402), and the identification of new variants of COVID-19, what plans they have to update their guidance for the ventilation of (1) existing, and (2) new, buildings.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL12137
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2021 answer text <p>The Health and Safety Executive’s guidance outlines control measures that should protect against virus transmission and these remain unchanged. Ensuring good ventilation, staying at home, working from home where you can, social distancing, hand washing and cleaning surfaces are all measures that will reduce infection risk.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 28/01/2021 15:24:19 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle