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1380831

registered interest
date	22/11/2021
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: Older People
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will provide a table showing (1) each of the benefits that individuals reaching the state pension age are entitled to claim, (2) the number of individuals who are entitled to claim such benefits, and (3) the number of individuals claiming them.
tabling member printed	Lord Sikka
uin	HL4308
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2021 answer text <ol><li>Individuals at or above State Pension age may be entitled to apply for financial support from amongst the following DWP benefits, depending upon their personal circumstances:</li></ol><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Attendance Allowance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Carer's Allowance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Christmas Bonus</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Disability Living Allowance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Housing benefits</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Industrial Injuries Disability benefits</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pension Credit</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Personal Independence Payment</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>State Pension</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Severe Disablement Allowance</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Winter Fuel Payments</p></td></tr></tbody></table><ol start="2"><li>We have data available for the number of families who are entitled to claim such benefits for Pension Credit and Housing Benefit. We do not hold this information for the other benefits in which pensioners may be entitled. These are from the Income-related benefits: estimates of take up: financial year 2018 to 2019.</li></ol><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Benefit</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of families entitled 2018/19</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pension Credit</p></td><td><p>2,490,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Housing Benefit (Pensioners)</p></td><td><p>1,440,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>There are already around 1.4 million people claiming around £5 billion in Pension Credit. We want to make sure that all eligible pensioners claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. The DWP conducted a media day in June with support from Age UK and the BBC and others, using national and local media to help reach older people reticent about claiming Pension Credit. There have also been press articles since then to encourage take-up.</p><p> </p><p>The working group which DWP has established includes a diverse range of organisations including pensioner charities as well as the BBC, British Telecom, Virgin Money and the Local Government Association. The group met most recently on 19 October and we hope that it will identify new practical initiatives to help address Pension Credit take up.</p><p> </p><p> </p><ol start="3"><li>The number of individuals claiming the following benefits can be found on Table 2c of the Benefit Expenditure and Caseload tables 2021 on Gov.uk.</li></ol><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Benefits directed at Pensioners</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Caseload 2020/21</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Attendance Allowance</p></td><td><p>1,388,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Carer’s Allowance</p></td><td><p>287,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Christmas Bonus</p></td><td><p>12,275,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Disability Living Allowance</p></td><td><p>523,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Housing Benefit</p></td><td><p>1,164,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Industrial Injuries benefits</p></td><td><p>150,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pension Credit</p></td><td><p>1,480,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Personal Independence Payment</p></td><td><p>306,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>State Pension</p></td><td><p>12,379,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Severe Disablement Allowance</p></td><td><p>15,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Winter Fuel Payments</p></td><td><p>11,205,000</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 06/12/2021 16:57:16 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4885 label Biography information for Lord Sikka

1380058

registered interest
date	18/11/2021
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	Winter Fuel Payment: Cohabitation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to prevent two separate Winter Fuel Allowances being offered to a cohabiting couple who own two properties.
tabling member printed	Lord Lipsey
uin	HL4196
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2021 answer text <p>Entitlement to a Winter Fuel Payment is based on the circumstances of the household which the claimant has reported as their permanent address. Claimants of benefits, pensions and Winter Fuel Payments have an obligation to report relevant changes to the Department, including changes of address and (where material to entitlement) changes to their household make-up.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 02/12/2021 16:40:48 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	2492 label Biography information for Lord Lipsey

1379703

registered interest
date	17/11/2021
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: Disqualification
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 increase in Universal Credit sanctions in June and July 2021; and when they plan to publish their report on the effectiveness of Universal Credit sanctions.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL4139
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2021 answer text <p>No assessment has been made of the increase in Universal Credit sanctions in June and July 2021. The increase is a result of the re-introduction of conditionality following its suspension at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sanctions rate remains low at 0.78%.</p><p> </p><p>We do not plan to publish a report on the sanctions evaluation as we were unable to assess the deterrent effect and therefore this research doesn’t present a comprehensive picture of sanctions</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 01/12/2021 15:06:37 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1378697

registered interest
date	15/11/2021
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	Household Support Fund
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government when the £500 million Household Support Fund will be made available; and what amount has been allocated for each of the financial years for which the Fund will be available.
tabling member printed	Lord Farmer
uin	HL3995
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2021 answer text <p>The £421m Household Support Fund has been available to Local Authorities in England since 6 October 2021 and runs until 31 March 2022. 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. The devolved administrations are responsible for making their own plans to spend their funding.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 29/11/2021 16:42:01 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4321 label Biography information for Lord Farmer

1366735

registered interest
date	08/11/2021
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 Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 1 November (HL3172), (1) whether the decision not to publish the report commissioned from NatCen on the uses of health and disability benefits is consistent with the Publication Protocol for Government Social Research, and (2) what plans they have, if any, to explain how the private space for policy development is relevant to the decision not to publish the NatCen report.
tabling member printed	Baroness Lister of Burtersett
uin	HL3815
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/11/2021 answer text <p>The Publication Protocol for Government Social Research provides guidance on the publication of social research, but it is important that Ministers consider research and its publication on a case by case basis and in the best interests of Government policy formation.</p><p> </p><p>The report in question engages an exemption from disclosure because it relates to the formulation or development of this government policy – Section 35(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act. This exemption protects the private space within which Ministers and their policy advisers can develop policies without the risk of premature disclosure.</p><p> </p><p>I am satisfied that in this instance the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosure. Therefore, I do not intend to publish this research at present.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 22/11/2021 17:31:54 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4234 label Biography information for Baroness Lister of Burtersett

1364512

registered interest
date	28/10/2021
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	Inflation: State Retirement Pensions
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 inflation will reach 4 per cent this winter; and what assessment, if any, they made of such reports when deciding to increase the state pension by 3.1 per cent.
tabling member printed	Lord Jones of Cheltenham
uin	HL3522
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2021 answer text <p>We have introduced the Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Bill into Parliament due to a statistical anomaly caused by the pandemic which has seen earnings growth surge to 8.3 per cent. This Bill temporarily amends the Social Security Administration Act 1992 and sets aside the earnings link for 2022/23. In its place, the Bill will require the Secretary of State to increase the relevant pensions and benefits by not less than the higher of inflation, which we now know is 3.1 per cent, or 2.5 per cent. The Bill covers the basic State Pension, the new State Pension, the Standard Minimum Guarantee in Pension Credit, and survivors’ benefits in Industrial Death Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>When we introduced the Bill earnings indices were showing significant volatility and we needed to take clear and decisive action to address the exceptional growth in earnings, and to give clarity on what would happen in April of next year. That is why we placed a double lock on the face of the Bill.</p><p> </p><p>Last year we saw earnings fall by one percentage point. In response, we legislated to set aside the earnings link, allowing the Secretary of State to award an up-rating of 2.5 per cent as this was higher than inflation. If we had not done this, State Pension would have been frozen. This legislation plus last years ensures the value of the State Pension is more than maintained relative to prices over the two years of the pandemic.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Secretary of State is required to undertake an annual review of State benefits and pensions which needs to be completed by the end of November due to IT deadlines. There are also interdependencies with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and Local Authorities which require the rates before Christmas. The new rates are then included in the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order which is laid in Parliament in January and debated in both Houses before coming into force at the beginning of the new tax year.</p><p> </p><p>By convention under successive governments, in order to meet these timescales, the Secretary of State uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the 12 months to September, which is published by the Office for National Statistics in October. On average, September CPI is higher than the following April half the time, and it is lower half the time. Using actual inflation figures for the previous September ensures that over the medium term benefit rates will always match actual inflation trends. There is no risk that they will lose their value in real terms.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 10/11/2021 17:15:07 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	248 label Biography information for Lord Jones of Cheltenham

1364173

registered interest
date	27/10/2021
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	Education: Disability
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how the education of disabled children will be tracked in the National Disability Strategy.
tabling member printed	Lord Storey
uin	HL3502
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2021 answer text <p>The government is committed to transforming the everyday lives of disabled people. We published the National Disability Strategy in July 2021 which sets out a wide ranging set of practical actions to improve the lives of disabled people, including in relation to education.</p><p> </p><p>In the strategy, the Department for Education committed to consulting on improvements to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system through the SEND Review. DfE recognises that the SEND system needs to improve, which is why the Review was established in September 2019, and the department will be bringing forward proposals for public consultation in the first quarter of 2022.</p><p> </p><p>DfE announced that high needs funding will increase by £780 million, or 9.6%, in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22. This is on top of the increase of more than £1.5 billion over the previous two years and will bring the total high needs budget to £8.9 billion, an increase of over a third since 2019-20.</p><p> </p><p>DfE is investing a further £300 million to create places for children with SEND, improve existing provision in schools and make accessibility adaptations in the financial year 2021 to 2022, while also providing over £42 million in 2021-22 to continue funding projects to support children with SEND. This investment will ensure that specialist organisations around the country can continue to help strengthen local area performance, support families and provide practical support to schools and colleges.</p><p> </p><p>At the request of the Prime Minister, a set of Ministerial Disability Champions were appointed in summer 2020, to drive the development and delivery of the National Disability Strategy. Now the strategy is published, the Minister for Disabled People chairs quarterly meetings of this group to sustain momentum and track progress against the over 100 commitments.</p><p> </p><p>The full list is set out on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/ministerial-disability-champions" target="_blank">.GOV.UK</a>, which includes Will Quince MP, the Department of Education Ministerial Disability Champion.</p><p> </p><p>The strategy committed to publishing an annual report in summer 2022, which will detail the progress made against all commitments, including those that relate to education.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 10/11/2021 16:31:42 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

1363791

registered interest
date	26/10/2021
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 Schemes: Disability and Young People
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what evaluation they have made of their supported employment schemes and employment support programmes for (1) disabled people, and (2) young people, since February 2020.
tabling member printed	Lord Shinkwin
uin	HL3458
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2021 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions’ two main employment support programmes for disabled people are the Work and Health Programme (WHP) and Intensive Personalised Employment Support (IPES). Both programmes are subject to ongoing evaluation to capture a full range of employment, health and wellbeing outcomes for programme participants.</p><p> </p><p>Alongside these employment schemes, DWP continues to evaluate labour market interventions targeted at disabled people and those with health conditions, including:</p><ul><li>Group Work: A trial of JOBS II, a 20-hour specialised job-search skills training course. An evaluation of the trial was published in July 2021: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/an-evaluation-of-the-group-work-jobs-ii-trial" target="_blank">An evaluation of the Group Work (JOBS II) trial - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></li><li>Employment Advisors (EAs) in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT): this initiative provides combined psychological support and employment advice to enable IAPT clients to stay in or take up work. An initial process evaluation was published in 2019: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/817628/employment-advisers-in-improving-access-to-psychological-therapies-process-evaluation-report.pdf" target="_blank">Employment Advisers in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies: process evaluation report (publishing.service.gov.uk)</a></li><li>The Health-led trials: testing whether the provision of Individual Placement Support (IPS) to people with physical and/or mild to moderate mental health conditions in Sheffield City Region (SCR) and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) makes a difference to health and employment outcomes. Individual Placement and Support is a specific version of supported employment and evaluation is ongoing.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The Plan for Jobs includes specific support for young people, including Kickstart, which funds the direct creation of jobs for young people at risk of long-term unemployment. The Department for Work and Pensions will be monitoring and evaluating the Kickstart scheme, alongside the wider DWP Youth Offer, throughout and after implementation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 11/11/2021 16:47:11 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4557 label Biography information for Lord Shinkwin

1363792

registered interest
date	26/10/2021
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: Disability and Ethnic Groups
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any long-term, disproportionate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment of (1) disabled people, and (2) young Black people; and what steps they are taking to address those effects.
tabling member printed	Lord Shinkwin
uin	HL3459
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2021 answer text <p>Since 2013 (the earliest comparable year using the current definition of disability) up to the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic the general trend in disability employment had been positive. There had been strong growth in the number and rate of disabled people in employment and a narrowing of the gap, between the rate of disabled and non-disabled people in employment.</p><p> </p><p>While quarterly statistics published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the pandemic initially reversed these trends, there are now signs of the trends improving, with the disability employment rate returning to its pre-pandemic level in Q2 2021. The disability employment gap has also started to narrow again during Q1 and Q2 of 2021. This suggests that, in the long term, disability employment rates have not been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to monitor the data and annual statistics, published by the Department on 4 November 2021, provided a more detailed view of disabled people in the labour market. These included breakdowns by a number of individual and work-related characteristics and covered the first 12 months of the pandemic. The number of disabled people in employment continued to increase (year-on-year) throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic but at a slower rate than seen in previous years. The number of disabled people in employment is now above pre-pandemic levels.</p><p> </p><p>In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have provided specialist employment support remotely and made programmes easier to access. A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people to start and stay in work. These include the Work and Health Programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services.</p><p> </p><p>Data from the Annual Population Survey shows the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on young Black people in relation to employment. Before the Covid-19 pandemic (July 2018 - June 2019) the employment rate for 16-24 year-old black people was 36.3%. This fell during the pandemic to 27.4% between July 2020 - June 2021.This is the latest available published data and therefore we cannot yet see how the employment rate of young black people has changed as the economy recovers from the pandemic.</p><p /><p>Throughout these unprecedented times, the Government has provided crucial support to record numbers of claimants. . This includes the Youth Offer, which has been developed to ensure that 18-24 year olds claiming Universal Credit have the skills they need to look for, find and keep employment. We also have a national programme of mentoring circles, involving employers offering specialised support to young jobseekers from ethnic minority backgrounds, including young black people.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 09/11/2021 17:57:15 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4557 label Biography information for Lord Shinkwin

1363794

registered interest
date	26/10/2021
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 whether an equality impact assessment was completed prior to the removal of the £20 Universal Credit uplift; and if so, what reference this had to disabled people.
tabling member printed	Lord Shinkwin
uin	HL3461
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2021 answer text <p>The Department has not completed an equality impact assessment of the removal of the Universal Credit temporary uplift as it was introduced as a temporary measure.</p><p><strong> </strong></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 existing programmes such as Work and Health Programme and the Intensive Employment Support Programme we are keen to see disabled people progress in work. Over the last 8 years the number of disabled people in employment has increased by 1.5m.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 11/11/2021 16:58:44 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	4557 label Biography information for Lord Shinkwin