Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in light of statistics on statistics on child poverty published by UNICEF showing that over half of children in poverty in the UK live in families with a child under five, why babies and young children are not identified as a specific vulnerable group in the Tackling Child Poverty – Monitoring and Evaluation Baseline Report, published on 9 July.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government's monitoring and evaluation framework, and baseline report, commit to assessing how child poverty trends and experiences vary across different family types and demographic groups. Children aged under five are an important group of interest, as set out in the Strategy’s evidence pack, and will continue to be considered within the Government's ongoing monitoring and analysis of child poverty outcomes.
The Government recognises the importance of the early years in shaping children's outcomes and life chances. This is why supporting children to have the best start in life is central to the Government's approach to tackling child poverty.
Our wider support for families with young children includes investing over £900 million in Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies, bringing together health, parenting support and early years services in a more connected, place-based model of support for families. Best Start Family Hubs focus on pregnancy and the early years, including the critical 1,001 days from conception to age two, helping ensure that babies, young children and their parents can access support at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the employment of disabled people of reduced Access to Work support packages in the last 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No such assessment has been undertaken. The support that a customer will receive from Access to Work is dependent upon their needs and circumstances at the time they make an application. Case Managers undertake a comprehensive assessment of the customer’s individual disability related requirements to ensure that the support provided is appropriate, proportionate, and aligned with the guidance and principles of the Access to Work scheme. This is also the case with any renewal applications which are also subject to a full review, including in cases where customers indicate that there have been no changes to their support needs. We are committed to ensuring that each case is considered carefully and fairly, with due regard to each individual customer’s needs and circumstances.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what their intended timeline is for the application of the planned reduction of the income tolerance from 25 per cent to 15 per cent for child maintenance calculations.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Changing the income tolerance from 25 to 15 per cent will require amendments to legislation that will be subject to Parliamentary approval. The Department is currently developing an implementation plan considering plans to bring forward the changes as Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what impact, if any, the introduction of quarterly income tax updates as part of Making Tax Digital has had on the way the Child Maintenance Service assesses the income of self-employed paying parents.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The introduction of quarterly reporting under Making Tax Digital (MTD) has not changed the way that the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) currently assesses the income of self-employed paying parents.
The CMS continues to use HMRC income information for the latest completed tax year and does not currently use quarterly MTD updates as evidence of self-employed income.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 17 July (HL1821), how they will inform stakeholders and parliamentarians of changes to Universal Credit as a result of the Universal Credit Review.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Universal Credit Review has been designed as an ongoing flexible programme of engagement, evidence gathering and policy development rather than a single review culminating in a final report. This approach has allowed the Department to respond to evidence as it emerges and take forward improvements where appropriate.
Any future changes to Universal Credit arising from the Review will be announced in line with established Government and Parliamentary processes.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish the findings of their review of Universal Credit; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since launching the Universal Credit Review in late 2024, we have engaged extensively with stakeholders, organisations and customers to understand better how Universal Credit is working in practice and where there may be opportunities for improvement. The Review has strengthened the Department’s evidence base and informed work across a number of policy areas where stakeholders and customers identified opportunities to improve how Universal Credit operates in practice.
We are not planning to publish a single final report, as the Review has been designed as a continuing programme of engagement, evidence gathering and policy development. This approach allows the Department to respond to evidence as it emerges and take forward improvements where appropriate.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which children living in poverty have unequal access to trees and green spaces compared to other children and of the implications for their health and well being; and what steps they are taking to address any such inequality as part of the child poverty strategy.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Poverty Strategy recognises that place is fundamental to child poverty, shaping the environment in which children grow up, and the opportunities parents have to provide for their children. Access to green space is a key part of this, providing opportunities for play, physical activity, social interaction and improved mental wellbeing, supporting healthier childhood development and life outcomes.
Local people know best what change is needed and empowering local areas to improve outcomes and opportunities for children is a fundamental principle of the strategy. Through the Pride in Place Programme, we will invest £5.8 billion in 284 communities over the next decade. Communities will develop plans for the future of their areas based on local priorities, which could include creating and improving green spaces.
The Pride in Place Impact Fund will also provide up to £150 million of funding to 95 places to support the development of community spaces, public spaces (including parks and playgrounds) and to revitalise local high streets. The £18 million Playgrounds Fund will improve children’s access to safe, inclusive, high‑quality local play spaces in communities where there is the greatest need.
This sits alongside Best Start Family Hubs, the Better Futures Fund and wider investment in local services and neighbourhoods.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people placed in the Support Group receive only New Style Employment and Support Allowance, by duration of awards (1) under two years, (2) between two and five years, (3) between five and ten years, (4) between 10 and 15 years, and (5) 15 years and longer; and what is the gender breakdown for each duration.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information is in the table:
Support Group New Style Employment and Support Allowance claimants by duration and gender – November 2025
| Female | Male | ||
| Volume | Percentage | Volume | Percentage |
Under 2 years | 41,600 | 12% | 32,500 | 10% |
2 to 5 years | 63,700 | 18% | 44,900 | 14% |
5 to 10 years | 80,300 | 23% | 66,100 | 21% |
10 to 15 years | 158,600 | 45% | 161,300 | 51% |
15 + years | 11,200 | 3% | 11,100 | 4% |
This analysis is partially based on Internal DWP administrative data. The volume of claimants by duration up to 5 years can be found on Stat-Xplore in the ESA- Data from May 2018 dataset. The published statistics amalgamate the final three categories into one category (5 years and over), in this analysis this cohort has been split into three categories using internal unpublished administrative data.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many and what proportion of people currently placed in the Support Group and receiving only New Style Employment and Support Allowance are also undertaking paid work within the permitted work limits; and what is their gender breakdown.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Reliable data is not held centrally so the information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Sherlock on 12 April 2025 (HL6439), what further programme of analysis have been undertaken of a time-limited contribution-based unemployment insurance; and what estimate they have made of the number of people who would no longer be entitled to this benefit if it is time-limited for (1) six months, and (2) 12 months.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information on the impacts of the Unemployment Insurance will be published in due course. Some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.