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 have commissioned research on people’s experiences of claiming and receiving Carer’s Allowance; if so, whether they will publish this research; and if so, when.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department commissioned research on experiences of claiming and receiving Carer’s Allowance; and is reviewing the research results as part of our wider policy development and thinking around Carer’s Allowance. We need to ensure that policy makers and Ministers are able to do so based on the evidence and without fear of premature disclosure. Therefore, we will not publish the report while this process is ongoing. If Ministers decide to publish its findings, they will be made available to Parliament and online.
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 reply by the Viscount Younger of Leckie on 9 March (HL5842), where the management information on the household support fund is published; and what steps they have taken to analyse this information.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The published management information for the Household Support Fund covering the period 6 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/household-support-fund-management-information-6-october-2021-to-31-march-2022.
The information for the subsequent Household Support Fund schemes are the subject of an upcoming statistical release and will be released following the usual quality assurance.
In terms of analysing this information, The Government collects high level data on the types of households supported to ensure that funded activities are within the scope of the Fund’s guidance and uses this to inform the design of future schemes.
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 Viscount Younger of Leckie on 8 February (HL5087), what evidence sources they are relying on to support their position that there is “clear evidence that it is in the best interest of children to be in working households”.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Improving Lives publication has shown that workless families are considerably more likely to experience problems with their relationships, have poor mental health, and be in problem debt. The publication includes these figures:
- Children growing up in workless families are almost twice as likely as children in working families to fail at all stages of their education.
- 37 per cent of children in workless families in England failed to reach the expected level at key stage 1 (aged 7) compared with 19 per cent in lower-income working families.
- 75 per cent of children in workless families failed to reach the expected level at GCSE, compared to 52 per cent in lower-income working families.
National Statistics on the number of in-work poverty are published annually in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ publication. It is not possible to provide a robust estimate for 2020/21 due to the impact the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had on data quality in 2020/21.
Statistics for 2021/22 will be published in the next Households Below Average Income publication in March 2023.
The latest available data on in-work poverty shows that in 2019/20, there was only a three per cent chance of children being in poverty (absolute, before housing costs) where both parents worked full-time compared with 42 per cent where one or more parents in a couple was in part-time work.
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 press statement by the Department for Work and Pensions on 27 January 2022, what assumptions were made (including regarding family type) to inform the statement that "people are at least £6,000 better off in full time work than on benefits".
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The actual amount an individual could gain from work depends on wage rates, the number of hours worked and family circumstances, such as having children, and whether the claimant receives the UC housing element.
The main assumption the Department used was that people earn the minimum wage of £9.50 an hour and that full time work is 35 hours a week. The Department’s publication Completing the Move to Universal Credit (publishing.service.gov.uk) shows that:
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 Viscount Younger of Leckie on 24 January (HL Deb cols 93–94), what plans they have, if any, (1) to publish regular data on the numbers of families and children affected simultaneously by the benefit cap and the two-child limit, and (2) to monitor the impact on these families and children.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not currently have plans to publish this data on a regular basis. However, the estimate, provided on 24 January, is based on published statistics for April 2022 which show the percentage of UC Households with three or more children who were not receiving a child element amount for at least one child. This percentage was applied to UC households that were benefit capped in April 2022 and have 3 or more children. Consequently we are able to estimate the number affected on an ongoing basis from the analysis that is already published.
The Department takes the impact of its policies very seriously and is why we introduce certain exceptions to these policies. We acknowledge that some households are affected simultaneously by both policies as such there is other support available. For example families can apply to their Local Authority for a Discretionary Housing Payment if they need help to meet rental costs. There is also help with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund. Our focus, however, remains firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work; an approach which is based on clear evidence that it is in the best interest of children to be in working households.
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 report on the discovery phase of the managed migration of Universal Credit; and if so, when they intend to do so.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
We intend to publish our learnings and observations from the initial Discovery tests in due course.
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 Stedman-Scott on 27 October (HL2434), on what basis a 70 per cent completion rate has been determined as a necessary criterion for publication of data; and whether they will deposit a copy of the guidance or document specifying a requirement for a 70 per cent completion rate threshold to be met before data are published in the Library of the House.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
Details of the plan for the publication of ethnicity data for Universal Credit claimants can be found under the heading of ‘Ethnicity for Universal Credit claimants’ in the background information section of the ‘Universal Credit Statistics Background Information & Methodology’ document on the GOV.UK website which can be accessed in the Library of the House.
For reporting on and interpreting non-mandatory self-declared diversity fields, the minimum threshold set by the Department for Work and Pensions is a completion rate of 70%. The level of non-completion represents both the level of uncertainty around the figures and also means the likelihood of responder bias is more prominent. The effect of responder bias could be quite substantial, yet unquantifiable. Therefore, any attempt to infer meaning from these figures until they reach a minimum level of completion would likely be misleading.
The minimum level of 70% has been determined by analysis of the completion rates for those on Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Ethnicity breakdowns have been published for JSA since August 2007, with a completion rate at the time of 90%, and for ESA since November 2008, with a completion rate of 74%. Due to this the threshold of 70% was chosen as the minimum level required before publication can be considered. Once the minimum threshold is achieved analysis will be performed to check the data is of sufficient quality to publish.
Meanwhile, work is on-going to improve the completion rate. The approach to capturing ethnicity information is being addressed to ensure that claimants are supported in providing the information. Claimants can be reassured that ethnicity information is used solely for statistical purposes in an aggregate fashion, non-attributable to individuals
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they are publicising to (1) claimants, and (2) advisers, the facility that exists for claimants to make and maintain a universal credit claim not online in cases where they would have difficulty with a digital claim; and what steps have they taken to ensure that (a) universal credit work coaches, and (b) subcontracted telephony agents, are aware of this facility.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
Guidance is available on GOV.UK Universal Credit: Universal Credit: How to claim - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) outlining how claimants can make a claim to Universal Credit and the provision available to claim via the Universal Credit helpline telephony service for those who can’t claim online. Guidance is available to both Work Coaches and telephony agents regarding the option for claimants to make and maintain their Universal Credit claim by phone. In addition, DWP staff regularly receive reminders via senior leader calls of the facility to make claims by phone for those claimants who need it.
DWP also grant funds Citizens Advice (CA), in partnership with Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS), to provide Help to Claim support to any persons making a new claim to Universal Credit. If they identify that a claim by phone is appropriate, then they will support the person in completing this.
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 claims were subject to deductions in the most recent month for which data are available, broken down by ethnicity; how much on average was deducted for each minority ethnic group; what was the total sum of deductions for each minority ethnic group; and what proportion of each of those sums was deducted to repay advance payments.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
The information requested by ethnic group is not available. As the ethnicity of Universal Credit (UC) claimants is collected through voluntary self-declaration and the completion rate has been and still is deficient, we have determined that this does not actually reflect the ethnicity breakdown of those on UC. Once 70% of those on UC have provided their ethnicity information (excluding those who prefer not to say) the Department will then hold sufficient information to consider publishing the ethnicity breakdown of those on UC.
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 of the first 500 people issued with universal credit migration notices in Bolton and Medway from 9 May, (1) claimed universal credit by their initial (un-extended) deadline, (2) claimed universal credit by their extended deadline, (3) did not claim universal credit by their final deadline, and (4) missed their deadline and had their legacy benefit stopped.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
We will set out our learnings and observations from the first phase of discovery process in due course.