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1455901

registered interest
date	30/03/2022
answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept id	211
answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
hansard heading	Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to tackle the challenges presented by areas of very high housing costs for people in housing poverty.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	150209
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The Government understands that people are concerned about pressure on household budgets and is taking action to help. The Chancellor announced in February a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23.</p><p>Individuals who are unable to afford their rental payments may be eligible for a range of support through the Universal Credit system. In April 2020, the Government boosted investment in the Local Housing Allowance by nearly £1 billion, providing 1.5 million claimants with around £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received. We maintained LHA rates at their increased levels in 2021/22 and rates will remain at those levels for 2022/23, so that everyone who benefitted from the increase will continue to do so.</p><p>Whilst three quarters of private renters find no difficulties in keeping up with their rent, we understand that affordability may be an issue for some and that they may require additional support. Discretionary Housing Payments are available to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011, the Government has provided almost £1.5 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments to local authorities. From April, the Government is also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund. This brings the total funding for this support to £1 billion.</p><p>For people living in social rented homes there are caps on maximum rent increases, under the social housing rent settlement that came into force in April 2020. This aims to strike a fair balance between the interests of existing social housing tenants, the interests of taxpayers, the need to build more homes and the importance of ensuring that providers have sufficient income with which to manage and maintain their properties.</p><p>For social renting tenants receiving Housing Benefit the maximum amount of Housing Benefit payable reflects the actual rent charged, subject to the removal of the spare room subsidy and the total benefit cap.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 25/04/2022 16:16:44 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1455284

registered interest
date	29/03/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential change in the estimated number of (a) adults and (b) children living in relative poverty after housing costs between 20210-22 and 2022-23.
tabling member constituency	Leeds West
tabling member printed	Rachel Reeves
uin	149227
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2022 answer text <p>HM Treasury distributional analysis published at Spring Statement 2022 shows that in 2024-25, government decisions since Spending Round 2019 will have benefitted the lowest-income households the most, as a proportion of income. Our modelling also shows that:</p><ul><li>the poorest 60% of households receive more in public spending than they contribute in tax.</li><li>Households in the lowest income decile will receive more than £4 in public spending for every £1 they pay in tax, on average.</li><li>The impact of government policy since Spending Round 2019 on the bottom four deciles is expected to be worth more than £1,000 a year, while there will have been a net benefit on average for the poorest 80% of households.</li><li>On average, the combined impact of personal tax and welfare decisions made since Spending Round 2019 is progressive, placing the largest burden on higher-income households as a proportion of income.</li></ul><p> </p><p>With around 1.3 million vacancies across the UK our focus is firmly on supporting people into and to progress in work as we know that work is the best and most sustainable route out of poverty. The government’s Plan for Jobs, Way to Work campaign and £3.8 billion investment over the parliament in skills by 2024-25 is helping do this.</p><p> </p><p>The government is also providing support worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help families with the cost of living. This includes providing millions of households with up to £350 to help with rising energy bills, a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate and freezes to alcohol duty. The Spring Statement went further, with the government announcing an increase to the annual National insurance Primary Threshold and Lower Profits Limit to £12,570, a cut to fuel duty, and an additional £500 million to help with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund. In addition, the National Living Wage has increased to £9.50 an hour from April 2022. This means an increase of over £1,000 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW.</p> answering member constituency Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland answering member printed Mr Simon Clarke grouped question UIN 149228 question first answered 19/04/2022 16:52:51 answering member 4655 label Biography information for Sir Simon Clarke
tabling member	4031 label Biography information for Rachel Reeves

1455285

registered interest
date	29/03/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential change in the estimated number of (a) adults and (b) children living in absolute poverty after housing costs between 2021-22 and 2022-23.
tabling member constituency	Leeds West
tabling member printed	Rachel Reeves
uin	149228
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2022 answer text <p>HM Treasury distributional analysis published at Spring Statement 2022 shows that in 2024-25, government decisions since Spending Round 2019 will have benefitted the lowest-income households the most, as a proportion of income. Our modelling also shows that:</p><ul><li>the poorest 60% of households receive more in public spending than they contribute in tax.</li><li>Households in the lowest income decile will receive more than £4 in public spending for every £1 they pay in tax, on average.</li><li>The impact of government policy since Spending Round 2019 on the bottom four deciles is expected to be worth more than £1,000 a year, while there will have been a net benefit on average for the poorest 80% of households.</li><li>On average, the combined impact of personal tax and welfare decisions made since Spending Round 2019 is progressive, placing the largest burden on higher-income households as a proportion of income.</li></ul><p> </p><p>With around 1.3 million vacancies across the UK our focus is firmly on supporting people into and to progress in work as we know that work is the best and most sustainable route out of poverty. The government’s Plan for Jobs, Way to Work campaign and £3.8 billion investment over the parliament in skills by 2024-25 is helping do this.</p><p> </p><p>The government is also providing support worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help families with the cost of living. This includes providing millions of households with up to £350 to help with rising energy bills, a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate and freezes to alcohol duty. The Spring Statement went further, with the government announcing an increase to the annual National insurance Primary Threshold and Lower Profits Limit to £12,570, a cut to fuel duty, and an additional £500 million to help with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund. In addition, the National Living Wage has increased to £9.50 an hour from April 2022. This means an increase of over £1,000 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW.</p> answering member constituency Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland answering member printed Mr Simon Clarke grouped question UIN 149227 question first answered 19/04/2022 16:52:51 answering member 4655 label Biography information for Sir Simon Clarke
tabling member	4031 label Biography information for Rachel Reeves

1453716

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	Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will increase support to tackle housing poverty in York and other areas where Broad Rental Market Areas covers a wide geographical area.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	145920
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/04/2022 answer text <p>A broad rental market area (BRMA) is an area within which a person could reasonably be expected to live, taking in to account access to facilities and services. The boundaries are not based on local authorities or Parliamentary constituencies and within each of the 192 BRMA’s there will be variation in rents reflecting local conditions.</p><p> </p><p>We increased support for private renters by boosting investment in the Local Housing Allowance by nearly £1 billion in 2020-21, providing 1.5 million households with an average of £600 more housing support than they would have otherwise received. We have maintained rates at their increased levels, ensuring all those who benefit from the increase continue to do so.</p><p> </p><p>For those who need further financial support with their housing costs Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP’s) are available from local authorities. Since 2011, we have provided almost £1.5 billion in DHP funding.</p><p> </p><p>As announced in the Spring Statement, the government is continuing to provide targeted cost of living support for households most in need. From April, the government is providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials, on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing the total funding for this support to £1 billion.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 06/04/2022 15:02:58 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1453004

registered interest
date	21/03/2022
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Households Below Average Income statistics, how many households were categorised as living in poverty after housing costs in each year since 2000.
tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
tabling member printed	Alan Brown
uin	143737
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2022 answer text <p>Table 1: Households in poverty after housing costs</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Relative Poverty AHC (millions)</p></td><td><p>Relative Poverty AHC (percentage)</p></td><td><p>Absolute Poverty AHC (millions)</p></td><td><p>Absolute Poverty AHC (percentage)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2000/2001*</p></td><td><p>5.9</p></td><td><p>24.4%</p></td><td><p>7.4</p></td><td><p>30.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2001/2002*</p></td><td><p>5.7</p></td><td><p>23.7%</p></td><td><p>6.6</p></td><td><p>27.2%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2002/2003</p></td><td><p>5.7</p></td><td><p>22.9%</p></td><td><p>6.4</p></td><td><p>25.8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2003/2004</p></td><td><p>5.4</p></td><td><p>21.8%</p></td><td><p>5.9</p></td><td><p>23.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2004/2005</p></td><td><p>5.1</p></td><td><p>20.5%</p></td><td><p>5.4</p></td><td><p>21.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005/2006</p></td><td><p>5.3</p></td><td><p>21.0%</p></td><td><p>5.5</p></td><td><p>21.7%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006/2007</p></td><td><p>5.6</p></td><td><p>22.2%</p></td><td><p>5.6</p></td><td><p>22.1%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007/2008</p></td><td><p>5.6</p></td><td><p>22.0%</p></td><td><p>5.5</p></td><td><p>21.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008/2009</p></td><td><p>5.6</p></td><td><p>21.6%</p></td><td><p>5.5</p></td><td><p>21.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009/2010</p></td><td><p>5.7</p></td><td><p>21.9%</p></td><td><p>5.5</p></td><td><p>21.2%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>5.5</p></td><td><p>21.0%</p></td><td><p>5.5</p></td><td><p>21.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>5.6</p></td><td><p>21.0%</p></td><td><p>5.8</p></td><td><p>21.8%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>5.6</p></td><td><p>21.0%</p></td><td><p>5.9</p></td><td><p>22.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>5.7</p></td><td><p>21.1%</p></td><td><p>5.9</p></td><td><p>21.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>5.8</p></td><td><p>21.3%</p></td><td><p>5.6</p></td><td><p>20.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/2016</p></td><td><p>6.0</p></td><td><p>21.8%</p></td><td><p>5.5</p></td><td><p>20.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/2017</p></td><td><p>6.3</p></td><td><p>22.5%</p></td><td><p>5.6</p></td><td><p>20.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/2018</p></td><td><p>6.0</p></td><td><p>21.9%</p></td><td><p>5.4</p></td><td><p>19.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/2019</p></td><td><p>6.1</p></td><td><p>21.8%</p></td><td><p>5.4</p></td><td><p>19.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/2020</p></td><td><p>6.3</p></td><td><p>22.3%</p></td><td><p>5.1</p></td><td><p>18.2%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*Data before 2002/2003 is for Great Britain. Data from 2002/2003 onwards is for the United Kingdom.</p><p> </p><p>This government prefers to look at absolute poverty over relative poverty as relative poverty can provide counter-intuitive results. Relative poverty is likely to fall during recessions, due to falling median incomes. Under this measure, poverty can decrease even if people are getting poorer. The absolute poverty line is fixed in real terms, so will only ever worsen if people are getting poorer, and only ever improve if people are getting richer.</p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 24/03/2022 17:22:09 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

1439750

registered interest
date	10/03/2022
answering body	Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept id	211
answering dept short name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
answering dept sort name	Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
hansard heading	Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to rising household costs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of local authority funding for support for residents in poverty.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	138085
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2022 answer text <p>The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2022/23 makes available an additional £3.7 billion to councils. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022/23 of over 4.5% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services. The most relatively deprived areas of England will receive 14% more per dwelling in available resource through this year’s Settlement than the least deprived areas.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 18/03/2022 14:52:51 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1421023

registered interest
date	08/02/2022
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	Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the impact of the benefit cap on levels of poverty.
tabling member constituency	North East Fife
tabling member printed	Wendy Chamberlain
uin	120932
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/02/2022 answer text <p>No recent assessment has been made of the impact of the benefit cap on the levels of poverty.</p><p> </p><p>There is a statutory duty for the Secretary of State to review the benefit cap levels once in each Parliament. The review will happen at the appropriate time, as determined by the Secretary of State.</p><p /><p>The Benefit Cap provides a strong work incentive and fairness for hard-working taxpaying households and encourages people to move into work, where possible. This aligns with our long-term focus of continuing to support people into, and to progress in, work. Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has recently been expanded by £500 million, will help people across the UK to find work and to boost their wages and prospects.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 21/02/2022 18:08:43 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4765 label Biography information for Wendy Chamberlain

1417806

registered interest
date	28/01/2022
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
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 Joseph Rowntree Foundation report UK Poverty 2022: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK, published on 18 January; and what steps they plan to take, if any, in response to the case for "co-ordinated commitment, effort and action on the intersecting issues and challenges" identified in the report in order to address "deep and persistent poverty" in the UK.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL5769
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2022 answer text <p>The poverty statistics included in the Joseph Rowntree Trust’s report cover the period to 2019/20 and therefore do not help us to understand how low-income households have fared over the last two financial years. The data shows that in 2019/20, household incomes saw their strongest annual growth for nearly 20 years, and that 700,000 fewer people, including 100,000 fewer children, were in absolute poverty before housing costs compared with 2010.</p><p>The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 11/02/2022 14:12:00 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1416943

registered interest
date	26/01/2022
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her priorities are for reducing levels of (a) absolute poverty and (b) relative poverty.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	112611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2022 answer text <p>This Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £240bn through the welfare system in 2021/22 including £110bn on people of working age, including around £59 billion on dedicated support for disabled people and people with health conditions in Great Britain. More than £129 billion is spent supporting pensioners.</p><p> </p><p>We are giving the lowest earners a pay rise by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 from April 2022, and making permanent changes to Universal Credit worth £1000 a year on average to two million in-work claimants.</p><p> </p><p>With around 1.25 million vacancies across the UK our focus is firmly on supporting people into and to progress in work as the best way to substantially reduce the risks of poverty. Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has been expanded by £500 million, is helping people across the UK to find work and to boost their wages and prospects. The new 'Way to Work’ campaign is a national drive to get half a million people who are out of work into jobs in the next five months and, in doing so, supporting people take their next step to building a more secure and prosperous future.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise that people may require extra support over the winter, which is why vulnerable households across the country are able to access the £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund provides £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula applies in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million.</p><p> </p><p>To support low income families further we have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins, and we are also investing over £200m a year from 2022 to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English Local Authorities.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 08/02/2022 14:41:59 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1404856

registered interest
date	20/01/2022
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
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of removing the benefit cap on (a) current and (b) future levels of poverty in (i) Wales, (ii) England, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	Arfon
tabling member printed	Hywel Williams
uin	108468
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2022 answer text <p>No assessment has been made of the potential impact of removing the benefit cap on the current and future levels of poverty in each nation.</p><p> </p><p>The benefit cap provides a strong work incentive and fairness for hard-working taxpaying households and encourages people to move into work, where possible. This aligns with our long-term focus of continuing to support parents into, and to progress in, work. Our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has recently been expanded by £500 million, will help people across the UK to find work and to boost their wages and prospects.</p><p> </p><p>Households can still receive benefits up to the equivalent gross earnings of around £24,000, or around £28,000 in London.</p><p> </p><p>The Government continues to monitor and publish trends in poverty across the UK. National Statistics on the number and percentage of people in poverty are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. This can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2020" target="_blank">Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2020 - GOV.UK</a></p> answering member constituency Macclesfield answering member printed David Rutley question first answered 25/01/2022 17:40:28 answering member 4033 label Biography information for David Rutley
tabling member	1397 label Biography information for Hywel Williams