Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of families on universal credit in 2018-19 in (a) Salford and (b) Worsley and Eccles South constituency; and what her policy is on foodbank referrals for those people.
Answered by Will Quince
It is not Department for Work and Pensions policy to refer claimants to food banks. However, flexibility and innovation in local Jobcentre arrangements allow for signposting to foodbanks.
In November 2019 the total number of households on Universal Credit in Salford was 12,395 and in Worsley and Eccles South constituency was 5,151.
Source: Stat-Xplore, Department for Work and Pensions
Notes:
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children in Worsley and Eccles South constituency were categorised under section 4 (a) (1)(a), (b) (1)(b), (c) (1)(c) and (d) (1)(d) of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 in each of the last four calendar years.
Answered by Will Quince
National Statistics on the percentage of children in low income households (relating to Section 4(a) 1(a) and 1(c) of the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016) are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. Statistics for the percentage of children in low income households is not available at constituency level in this publication because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography. Statistics for the North West region can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-199495-to-201718, “children-hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2017-18-tables” in tables 4.16ts (for relative low income, before and after housing costs) and 4.22ts (for absolute low income, before and after housing costs)
Data for the percentage of children in low income and material deprivation (relating to Section 4(a) 1(b) of the Act) is not available at constituency level in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. Statistics for the United Kingdom are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-199495-to-201718, “children-trends-hbai-1994-95-2017-18-tables” in table 4.5tr.
Experimental Statistics on the percentage of children in persistent low income (relating to Section 4(a) 1(d) of the Act) are published annually in the “Income Dynamics” publication. Statistics for the percentage of children in persistent low income households is not available at constituency level in this publication because the survey sample sizes are too small to support the production of robust estimates at this geography. Statistics for the North West region can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-dynamics-2016-to-2017 in table 3.2p (on a before housing costs basis) and table 3.8p (on an after housing costs basis).
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of food parcels distributed by food banks in (a) Salford and (b) Worsley and Eccles South in 2018-19.
Answered by Will Quince
The Government does not collect data on the number of food parcels distributed by food banks and there is no official data on food bank use in the UK.
In order to develop a better understanding of the drivers of food insecurity and identify which groups are most at risk we have introduced a new set of food security questions in the Family Resources Survey questionnaire from April 2019 onwards.
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of (a) benefit sanctions, (b) the benefits cap and (c) the benefits freeze on the mental health of benefit claimants; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
No assessment specifically has been made on the impact of benefit sanctions and the benefit freeze on claimants’ with mental health. We are committed to supporting those who cannot work, and those with additional needs. Decision Makers take all the claimant’s individual circumstances, including any health conditions or disabilities, and any evidence of good cause into account before making a decision. Benefits for the additional costs of disability, and for carers, are exempt from the benefit freeze and will continue to be up-rated in the usual way
The evaluation of the original benefit cap found that capped households were 41% more likely to go into work than similar uncapped households. Encouraging more households to move into work would also help increase the household’s income and improve their well-being. Research shows for people without work, re-employment leads to improvement in health and well-being whereas further unemployment leads to deterioration. We therefore expect the reduction of the benefit cap to have a positive impact on households moving into work.
Asked by: Baroness Keeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the increase in mental health illness among unemployed people as highlighted in the findings of the recent report by the UK Council for Pyschotherapy.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Earlier this year, the Prime Minister announced the first steps in our plan to transform the way we deal with mental health problems at every stage of a person’s life. A range of new measures were announced, including two new reviews. In addition, the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and NHS England’s Implementation Plan sets out a series of actions to prevent mental ill health, improve services and reduce stigma.