Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the finding by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights that 1.5 million people in the UK are destitute.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Government will consider the Special Rapporteur’s findings carefully. Although it disagrees with the conclusion of this interim report, the Government has noted that the report welcomes the simplification of the benefits system brought in by Universal Credit and the recent Budget announcements to help tackle in-work poverty.
The 14 million people in poverty figure used by the Special Rapporteur was taken from the Social Metrics Commission report “A new measure of poverty for the UK”.
We welcome the work that the Social Metrics Commission has done. Measuring poverty is complex, and this report offers further insight into that complexity. We are engaging with the Social Metrics Commission, who acknowledge that further work needs to be done (particularly around data availability and quality). We will carefully consider their recommendations and the detail behind the methodology they have employed when this has been made available.
DWP publishes a range of measures that track various aspects of poverty. These include four measures for low income poverty:
| Number of people in low income (millions) | Percentage of people in low income (%) | ||
Low Income Measure | 2009/10 | 2016/17 | 2009/10 | 2016/17 |
Relative Before Housing Costs | 10.4 | 10.4 | 17 | 16 |
Relative After Housing Cost | 13.6 | 14.3 | 22 | 22 |
Absolute Before Housing Costs | 9.9 | 8.9 | 16 | 14 |
Absolute After Housing Costs | 13.1 | 12.4 | 21 | 19 |
The finding relating to the number of people in destitution is a misinterpretation of the key finding from a report published by the Joseph Rowntree Trust on 7 June, 2018: “Destitution in the UK, 2018”. This report found that 1.5 million people in the UK had been destitute at some point during 2017 and also noted that this was a reduction of 25 per cent compared with 2015.
Under this Government, income inequality has fallen and remains lower than in 2010; the number of children in workless households is at a record low; and there are 1 million fewer people in absolute poverty (before housing costs) compared with 2010, including 300,000 children.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the accuracy of the finding by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights that 14 million people live in poverty in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Government will consider the Special Rapporteur’s findings carefully. Although it disagrees with the conclusion of this interim report, the Government has noted that the report welcomes the simplification of the benefits system brought in by Universal Credit and the recent Budget announcements to help tackle in-work poverty.
The 14 million people in poverty figure used by the Special Rapporteur was taken from the Social Metrics Commission report “A new measure of poverty for the UK”.
We welcome the work that the Social Metrics Commission has done. Measuring poverty is complex, and this report offers further insight into that complexity. We are engaging with the Social Metrics Commission, who acknowledge that further work needs to be done (particularly around data availability and quality). We will carefully consider their recommendations and the detail behind the methodology they have employed when this has been made available.
DWP publishes a range of measures that track various aspects of poverty. These include four measures for low income poverty:
| Number of people in low income (millions) | Percentage of people in low income (%) | ||
Low Income Measure | 2009/10 | 2016/17 | 2009/10 | 2016/17 |
Relative Before Housing Costs | 10.4 | 10.4 | 17 | 16 |
Relative After Housing Cost | 13.6 | 14.3 | 22 | 22 |
Absolute Before Housing Costs | 9.9 | 8.9 | 16 | 14 |
Absolute After Housing Costs | 13.1 | 12.4 | 21 | 19 |
The finding relating to the number of people in destitution is a misinterpretation of the key finding from a report published by the Joseph Rowntree Trust on 7 June, 2018: “Destitution in the UK, 2018”. This report found that 1.5 million people in the UK had been destitute at some point during 2017 and also noted that this was a reduction of 25 per cent compared with 2015.
Under this Government, income inequality has fallen and remains lower than in 2010; the number of children in workless households is at a record low; and there are 1 million fewer people in absolute poverty (before housing costs) compared with 2010, including 300,000 children.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish a response to the Statement on the Visit to the UK by the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, published on 16 November.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Government will consider the Special Rapporteur’s findings carefully. Although it disagrees with the conclusion of this interim report, the Government has noted that the report welcomes the simplification of the benefits system brought in by Universal Credit and the recent Budget announcements to help tackle in-work poverty.
The 14 million people in poverty figure used by the Special Rapporteur was taken from the Social Metrics Commission report “A new measure of poverty for the UK”.
We welcome the work that the Social Metrics Commission has done. Measuring poverty is complex, and this report offers further insight into that complexity. We are engaging with the Social Metrics Commission, who acknowledge that further work needs to be done (particularly around data availability and quality). We will carefully consider their recommendations and the detail behind the methodology they have employed when this has been made available.
DWP publishes a range of measures that track various aspects of poverty. These include four measures for low income poverty:
| Number of people in low income (millions) | Percentage of people in low income (%) | ||
Low Income Measure | 2009/10 | 2016/17 | 2009/10 | 2016/17 |
Relative Before Housing Costs | 10.4 | 10.4 | 17 | 16 |
Relative After Housing Cost | 13.6 | 14.3 | 22 | 22 |
Absolute Before Housing Costs | 9.9 | 8.9 | 16 | 14 |
Absolute After Housing Costs | 13.1 | 12.4 | 21 | 19 |
The finding relating to the number of people in destitution is a misinterpretation of the key finding from a report published by the Joseph Rowntree Trust on 7 June, 2018: “Destitution in the UK, 2018”. This report found that 1.5 million people in the UK had been destitute at some point during 2017 and also noted that this was a reduction of 25 per cent compared with 2015.
Under this Government, income inequality has fallen and remains lower than in 2010; the number of children in workless households is at a record low; and there are 1 million fewer people in absolute poverty (before housing costs) compared with 2010, including 300,000 children.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many families in receipt of Universal Credit affected by any reductions in income caused by the managed migration roll out they estimate have children of school age.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The regulations to enact managed migration will come before Parliament this autumn and are subject to parliamentary approval.
These regulations include transitional protection for claimants which will mean that no one will have a reduced benefit entitlement at the point that they move over to Universal Credit as a result of managed migration. They also provide additional protection to claimants receiving a Severe Disability Premium, to ensure they are not moved onto Universal Credit ahead of managed migration, and to provide financial protection to those claimants who have already moved over.
In the legacy system there are £2.4bn of unclaimed benefits not taken up by people who need them, because they do not know about them. These regulations will ensure that 700,000 more people will get paid their full entitlement under Universal Credit, worth an average of £285 per month.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of those whose income may be reduced as a result of the roll out of Universal Credit through the managed migration process they estimate will be claimants in employment.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The regulations to enact managed migration will come before Parliament this autumn and are subject to parliamentary approval.
These regulations include transitional protection for claimants which will mean that no one will have a reduced benefit entitlement at the point that they move over to Universal Credit as a result of managed migration. They also provide additional protection to claimants receiving a Severe Disability Premium, to ensure they are not moved onto Universal Credit ahead of managed migration, and to provide financial protection to those claimants who have already moved over.
In the legacy system there are £2.4bn of unclaimed benefits not taken up by people who need them, because they do not know about them. These regulations will ensure that 700,000 more people will get paid their full entitlement under Universal Credit, worth an average of £285 per month.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of claimants in receipt of Universal Credit who will be affected by managed migration they estimate will lose income as a result of the roll out of that scheme in 2019.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The regulations to enact managed migration will come before Parliament this autumn and are subject to parliamentary approval.
These regulations include transitional protection for claimants which will mean that no one will have a reduced benefit entitlement at the point that they move over to Universal Credit as a result of managed migration. They also provide additional protection to claimants receiving a Severe Disability Premium, to ensure they are not moved onto Universal Credit ahead of managed migration, and to provide financial protection to those claimants who have already moved over.
In the legacy system there are £2.4bn of unclaimed benefits not taken up by people who need them, because they do not know about them. These regulations will ensure that 700,000 more people will get paid their full entitlement under Universal Credit, worth an average of £285 per month.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the roll out of Universal Credit to be completed; and what steps they are taking to ensure that data collected on access to free school meals is reliable.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Universal Credit will be available for all new claims by the end of December 2018. The Managed Migration of current benefit claimants to Universal Credit will begin in 2019 and is due to be completed in 2023.
DWP works closely with the Department for Education, electronically verifying Universal Credit claimants who meet the eligibility criteria for free school meals.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 16 July (HL9124), whether they will now provide an estimate of the number of working families with two children or more currently using foodbanks following reductions in benefit entitlement or delays in benefit payments.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
We do not record the number of people using foodbanks or other types of food aid. [Some food aid providers, such as the Trussell Trust, produce statistics on the number of food parcels distributed.]
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the National Audit Office Rolling out Universal Credit, published 15 June, which states that of those transferred onto Universal Credit (1) 40 per cent are experiencing financial difficulties, (2) 25 per cent are unable to make online claims, and (3) 20 per cent are not paid in full on time; and what steps they intend to take to meet their legal obligations to those receiving in-work benefits.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The National Audit Office (NAO) report recognised that the Department’s agile approach allows it to adjust its plans based on what it learns and that some elements are working well. The report also recognised that payment timeliness has improved. We have already implemented policy changes to address many of the concerns raised in the report.
(1) The DWP Claimant Survey (which the NAO Report quoted) says that nearly seven out of ten claimants said they were confident managing their payments. We are investing up to £200 million into budgeting and digital support, to help claimants with the transition to Universal Credit and work coaches work closely with claimants, ensuring they can identify any vulnerabilities or specific needs, such as financial difficulties, at an early stage. We have listened to concerns and invested £1.5 billion in a package of measures to support claimants financially in the first assessment period, and recently announced we would be introducing further protection for people who receive the Severe Disability Premium.
(2) The Claimant Survey research also states that 98 per cent of claims are made online, and that nearly half of claimants had help from others or from their jobcentre adviser to do so. This shows that people get the support they need to make their claim. We knew that people would require digital support with the transition to Universal Credit, that is why, as above, we are investing up to £200 million. All jobcentres across the country have free Wi-Fi, and there are more than 8,000 computers available to support customers who need help with making their claim digitally and applying for jobs online. Work coaches will also assist anyone who needs assistance. If people cannot get online we have also a freephone helpline available.
(3) Around 80 per cent of new claims are paid in full and on time. In many cases, where full payment is not made on time by the end of the first assessment period, this is as a result of unresolved issues: some claimants have not signed their Claimant Commitment or passed identity checks, others have outstanding verification issues, such as for housing and self-employed earnings. Whilst their verification is on-going, many of these claimants receive a part payment. We know that, within five weeks of the payment due date, 95% of the claims are paid in full. As the NAO report acknowledges, we have taken steps to improve the verification processes (Paragraph 2.18). For example we have listened to feedback and built processes into the system to make it easier and quicker for people to verify their housing costs.
Asked by: Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have saved in housing benefit payments in each year since the introduction of the under occupancy charge as a result of the introduction of the charge; how many extra units of accommodation have been made available in each of those years as a result of that charge; and how many tenants have opted to continue occupying accommodation subject to the charge.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) policy has saved over £1.5 billion since its introduction in April 2013. Information on the number of households subject to a RSRS deduction and average deduction amounts is available via the DWP Stat Xplore website:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/login.xhtml
Guidance for users is available at:
https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html
Deductions figures do not take into account any additional savings due to behavioural change before/after the policy has been introduced, for example moving to a smaller property to avoid a deduction.
Information on extra units of accommodation made available due to the introduction of the policy is not currently available. However, the decline in the number of households subject to a deduction evident in the data on DWP Stat Xplore suggests that many people have been able to find alternative accommodation of a more suitable size.
The DWP provided £54 million in Discretionary Housing Payments to local authorities in England and Wales in 2017/18 to provide support for vulnerable people affected by the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy policy.
Notes