Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication on 7 April of Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, whether there will be exemptions from the proposed conversations for disabled people who cannot work, and if so what those exemptions will be.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The support conversation will enable individuals to set out their aspirations, needs and goals, understand what early support might be available to them and be signposted towards it. Given the importance of the support conversation in ensuring individuals understand the help available to them, we are considering making participation a requirement. However, we are consulting on how we should design and deliver it, and, if mandated, who should be exempted, so that it is welcomed by individuals and is effective.
We are seeking views through the Green Paper on what those exemptions should be.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of disabled people who are in receipt of a means-tested benefit but are not in receipt of personal independence payment.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are an estimated 2.0 million disabled people of working age who are in receipt of a means-tested benefit but not receipt of personal independence payment or an equivalent disability benefit, and an estimated 0.7 million of pension age.
Source: These figures are modelled estimates from DWP’s Policy Simulation Model (PSM), and therefore should not be treated as official statistics.
The PSM is tax/benefit static microsimulation model used widely throughout DWP and across Government to assess the impact of welfare policy. The PSM is based on a three-year pooled sample of the Family Resources Survey (FRS 19-20, 21-22 and 22-23). It is therefore subject to potential sampling error and respondent error. This is projected forwards to 2025/26 based on multiple assumptions about incomes for all households. The PSM corrects benefit under-reporting in the FRS by aligning the sample weights to benefit forecasts. The PSM is also calibrated to population data from the ONS and incorporates the OBRs economic forecast. The model does not yet take account of Spring Statement 2025 policy measures.
Notes:
1. Disability is defined as the Equality Act 2010 core definition, self-reported by survey respondents who report that they have a long-term physical or mental health condition, lasting or expected to last at least 12 months, that limits their daily activities either ‘a little’ or ‘a lot’.
2. Means-tested benefits includes any of the following: Universal Credit (UC), Income Support (IS), Employment Support Allowance (ESA), Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Working Tax Credit (WTC), Child Tax Credit (CTC), Housing Benefit (HB, or Northern Ireland equivalent), Council Tax Rebate (CTR, or Northern Ireland equivalent), or Pension Credit (PC).
3. Receipt of Personal Independence Payment includes other broadly equivalent disability benefits: Disability Living allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA). Eligibility for these benefits is based on different criteria from the legal definition of disability (see Note 1). The PSM does not estimate eligibility for disability benefits, relying on those who have reported it in the FRS.
4. Estimates relate to 2025/26 and are rounded to the nearest 0.1 million people.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the proposal in Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published 28 March, for a time-limited contribution-based employment and support allowance, what estimate they have made of the number of people who will no longer be entitled to this allowance 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 Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and 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’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
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 remarks by Baroness Sherlock on 18 March (HL Deb col 1203), whether the above-inflation increase in the standard rate of Universal Credit by the end of this Parliament represents an above-inflation increase in any year other than 2026–27.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The announced increase in the standard allowance will see an above inflation increase in every year from 2026/27 to the end of Parliament.
The proposed increases are inflation (measured by CPI), plus: 2.3% in 2026/27, 3.1% in 2027/28, 4.0% in 2028/29 and 4.8% in 2029/30.
As such, in each year, the rates will be what they would have been under CPI uprating and then increased by the relevant percentage figure.
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 couples receiving Universal Credit have earnings.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In October 2024, 720,000 couples were in payment for Universal Credit and had earnings reported in that month.
Note: The figure above is from Universal Credit administrative data from October 2024 and subject to retrospective changes. The volumes are of people who were in payment of UC in October 2024 and those with a positive earnings record. The figure has been rounded to 2 significant figures. Those with missing values have been excluded from the figure above. We have defined single status and couple status according to their standard allowance amount.
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 10 February (HL4426), what are the numbers and proportions of lead carers in couples with children broken down by (1) gender of lead carer, and (2) whether employed, according to whether the couple has (a) one earner, broken down by gender; or (a) two earners.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Table below provides the breakdown of the number of lead carers in couples with children receiving Universal Credit by gender of the lead carer and whether the couple has no earners, one earner or two earners.
| Gender of lead carer | Volumes (October 2024) |
No earners | Female | 108,000 |
Male | 23,000 | |
One earner | Female | 320,000 |
Male | 47,000 | |
Two earners | Female | 190,000 |
Male | 21,000 | |
| Total | 709,000 |
Note: the data above is from Universal Credit administrative data from October 2024 and subject to retrospective changes. The volumes are of people who were in payment of UC in October 2024. The figures have been rounded to 2 significant figures. We have defined single status and couple status according to their standard allowance amount. 2-3% of households did not have a match between Universal Credit data and the Lead Carer data - those with missing values have been excluded from the figures above.
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 10 February (HL4425), what is the breakdown of the number of couples receiving Universal Credit where the calculation of earnings includes a work allowance, (1) by whether the couple has (a) one earner, or (b) two earners, and (2) by the gender of the lead carer where the couple has dependent children.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below provides the breakdown of the number of couples receiving Universal Credit where the calculation of earnings includes a work allowance by whether the couple has one earner or two earners.
| Volumes (October 2024) |
One earner | 460,000 |
Two earners | 230,000 |
Total | 690,000 |
The table below provides the breakdown of the number of couples receiving Universal Credit where the calculation of earnings includes a work allowance by the gender of the lead carer where the couple has children.
Gender of lead carer | Volumes (October 2024) |
Female | 510,000 |
Male | 68,000 |
Total | 580,000 |
Note: the data above is from Universal Credit administrative data from October 2024 and subject to retrospective changes. The volumes are of people who were in payment of UC in October 2024 and those with a positive earnings record. The figures have been rounded to 2 significant figures. We have defined single status and couple status according to their standard allowance amount. 2-3% of households did not have a match between Universal Credit data and the Lead Carer data - those with missing values have been excluded from the figure above.
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 10 February (HL4426), what are the numbers and proportions of lead carers in couples with children broken down by the person into whose bank account Universal Credit has been nominated to be paid.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur 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 for how many universal credit claimants the calculation of earnings includes a work allowance, broken down by (1) gender of claimant, (2) whether it is a single or joint claim, and (3) whether the claimant has children or not.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below provides the number of Universal Credit claimants in October 2024 where the calculation of earnings includes a work allowance, broken down by gender of claimant, whether it is a single or joint claim, and whether the claimant has children or not.
Single or joint claim | Gender | Children | Volumes |
Single | Female | Yes | 1,004,000 |
No | 57,000 | ||
Male | Yes | 107,000 | |
No | 39,000 | ||
Couple | Female | Yes | 620,000 |
No | 57,000 | ||
Male | Yes | 610,000 | |
No | 56,000 |
Note: the data in the table above is from Universal Credit administrative data from October 2024 and subject to retrospective changes. The volumes are of people who were in payment of UC in October 2024 and those with positive earnings recorded in their award calculation. The figures have been rounded to 2 significant figures. Those with missing values have been excluded from the figures above. We have defined single status and couple status according to their standard allowance amount.
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 Universal Credit claimants receive the lower rate of the standard allowance due to being below the age of 25, broken down by (1) gender of claimant, (2) whether it is a single or joint claim, and (3) whether the claimant has children or not.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The table below provides the number of Universal Credit claimants who receive the lower rate of standard allowance due to being below the age of 25. The data is for October 2024 and broken down by gender of claimant, whether it is a single or joint claim, and whether the claimant has children or not
Single or joint claim | Gender | Children | Volumes |
Single and under 25 | Female | Yes | 110,000 |
No | 180,000 | ||
Male | Yes | 4,200 | |
No | 270,000 | ||
Joint claim and both under 25 | Female | Yes | 12,000 |
No | 5,400 | ||
Male | Yes | 11,000 | |
No | 4,600 |
Note: the data in the table above is from Universal Credit administrative data from October 2024 and subject to retrospective changes. The volumes are of people who were in payment of UC in October 2024. The figures have been rounded to 2 significant figures. Those with missing values have been excluded from the figure above. We have defined single status and couple status according to their standard allowance amount.