Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to introduce new earned income disregards for Housing Benefit claimants in supported housing.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department will be introducing new earned income disregards for Housing Benefit claimants in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation from Autumn 2026. This will help smooth the transition between the two benefit systems and remove the financial cliff edge for individuals in supported housing and temporary accommodation.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the new Crisis and Resilience Fund will count as public funds under the 'no recourse to public funds' rule.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Crisis and Resilience Fund will fall within the definition of public funds. We plan to publish scheme guidance in January 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which proposals in Restoring Order and Control (CP1418), published on 17 November, will be subject to consultation and what will be the timing of any such consultations.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Three of the measures in ‘Restoring Order and Control’ will be subject to consultation. They are:
Other areas will involve engagement with relevant stakeholders.
Updates on these consultations will follow in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which proposals in (1) Restoring Order and Control (CP1418), published on 17 November, and (2) A Fairer Pathway to Settlement (CP1448) will be implemented by (a) primary and (b) secondary legislation.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
For the policies set out in both Restoring Order and Control and A Fairer Pathway to Settlement, legislative plans will be set out in due course. In the case of A Fairer Pathway to Settlement this will follow the current public consultation, which will allow for specific policy details to be finalised.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to involve organisations working to tackle youth homelessness in their review of value for money of homelessness services; and what is the timeline of that review.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Building on the recommendations of the Office for Value for Money, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury will lead a process with Secretaries of State to review how to improve value for money across homelessness services. The review will commence in 2026, with the outputs considered as part of the Spending Review 2027.
To drive meaningful change, the review will be a collaborative effort across government departments and we will consider where and how external expertise can be utilised as part of this to ensure a comprehensive assessment.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the new Crisis and Resilience Fund guidance will make furniture and appliance provision an integral part of the support offered by local authorities to those lacking essential furniture.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
My Department has engaged with stakeholders on the design of the Crisis and Resilience Fund through a structured co-design process involving a representative group of local authorities, third-party organisations and academics. We are considering all feedback received through this process, and we plan to publish guidance in January 2026.
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 potential impact of furniture provision, through the Crisis and Resilience Fund, on the likelihood of low-income households entering unmanageable debt.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
My Department has engaged with stakeholders on the design of the Crisis and Resilience Fund through a structured co-design process including furniture provision. We are considering all feedback received through this process, and we plan to publish guidance in January 2026.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made an assessment of the links between child poverty and school absence due to ill health or other circumstances.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We know that disadvantaged pupils face barriers to engagement with education. A recent report from the Child Poverty Action Group found that more than 1 in 4 pupils aged 11 to 18 eligible for free school meals in the UK say they have missed school at least once because they did not have something they needed to attend. Absence data reinforces this with the rate of overall absence for pupils eligible for free school meals continuing to be almost twice that of pupils not eligible.
The government’s landmark decision to remove the two-child limit will lift almost half a million children out of poverty; this comes alongside our actions to tackle the cost of the school day, through expanding free school meals, cutting the cost of uniform and delivering free breakfast clubs in primary schools, which will all remove barriers to school attendance and attainment. Mental health support teams are also providing earlier support in school for young people.
Our real-time attendance data and toolkits for schools enable early identification of pupils at risk of persistent absence and include a self-assessment tool that explicitly asks schools how they track and respond to the absence of pupils entitled to free school meals. Schools can also use Pupil Premium funding to provide attendance support for disadvantaged students.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help low-income, vulnerable people such as domestic abuse survivors who are moved into unfurnished social housing without any furniture or white goods, nor the financial means to acquire them.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
My Department engages actively with registered providers of social housing and a wide range of stakeholders on issues affecting tenants, including groups such as End Furniture Poverty to understand their work on this matter.
On 2 July, we launched a consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard (DHS) for the social and private rented sectors, which included proposals for the Government to develop best practice guidance for all landlords, including information on how tenants in need can access support for furniture provision. The consultation has now closed, and responses are being analysed. More details on future guidance will be published as part of the Government’s formal response.
In the meantime, people living without essential furniture may be able to access support through their local authority, including via the Household Support Fund and other locally available services. My Department is also allocating £10.9 million of funding this year to 61 local authorities in England with the highest numbers of children in temporary accommodation, to increase access to support and services. More information (attached) is available on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs and savings resulting from offering furnished tenancies in social housing, and the impact of such tenancies on homelessness presentations and local welfare assistance spending.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
My Department engages actively with registered providers of social housing and a wide range of stakeholders on issues affecting tenants, including groups such as End Furniture Poverty to understand their work on this matter.
On 2 July, we launched a consultation on a reformed Decent Homes Standard (DHS) for the social and private rented sectors, which included proposals for the Government to develop best practice guidance for all landlords, including information on how tenants in need can access support for furniture provision. The consultation has now closed, and responses are being analysed. More details on future guidance will be published as part of the Government’s formal response.
In the meantime, people living without essential furniture may be able to access support through their local authority, including via the Household Support Fund and other locally available services. My Department is also allocating £10.9 million of funding this year to 61 local authorities in England with the highest numbers of children in temporary accommodation, to increase access to support and services. More information (attached) is available on gov.uk here.