Asked by: Lord Beecham (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the report of the Chartered Institute of Housing Missing The Target? Is targeted affordability funding doing its job?, published on 29 August, what steps they are taking to alleviate the problems faced by tenants of private rented homes caused by the four year freeze on local housing allowance levels.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
As part of the measures to bring the welfare bill under control and alongside the freeze to other working age benefits Local Housing Allowance rates have been frozen for four years from April 2016 until March 2020. At Autumn Budget 2017, it was announced that an additional £125 million would be available for Targeted Affordability Funding in 2018/19 and 2019/20. In 2018/19 this enables us to increase 213 Local Housing Allowance rates by 3 per cent in those areas where rates have diverged the most from local rents. More Targeted Affordability Funding will be available in 2019/20 and arrangements for its distribution will be finalised at the end of this year.
In addition, from 2011 the Government has provided around £1 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments to local authorities to protect the most vulnerable claimants and support households affected by different welfare reforms including the freeze to Local Housing Allowance rates.
Asked by: Lord Beecham (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following the High Court ruling that Universal Credit unlawfully discriminates against claimants transferring from legacy benefits resulting in the loss of Disability and Severe Disability Premium, they intend to change that guidance so that transfer to Universal Credit will not be effected until transitional protection is given.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The court found in the Department’s favour on three of the four points raised by the claimant. We will be applying to appeal on the one point that the court found against the Department.
On 7th June, prior to the judgment, we announced changes that would help people who receive the Severe Disability Premium. These changes will form part of the Universal Credit Managed Migration and Transitional Protection Regulations which we intend to bring forward in the Autumn. The intention is that once legislation has passed, people on legacy benefits who get the Severe Disability Premium will stay on their legacy benefits until they can be managed migrated to Universal Credit, at which point transitional protection will be in pace. We will also consider retrospective protection for people previously in receipt of Severe Disability Premium who have already moved onto UC.
Asked by: Lord Beecham (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 Muscular Dystrophy UK Focus on disability benefits published in June 2016; and what steps they have taken to ensure benefit assessment centres are fully accessible for disabled people.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Ensuring our assessment services are accessible to all claimants is a priority in line with the access standards under the Equality Act 2010. Where customers are not able to access an assessment at one of our assessment centres, our assessment providers provide an alternative method of delivering the service. For example they may arrange an appointment at an alternative nearby assessment centre or arrange a home visit.
Asked by: Lord Beecham (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many benefit assessment centres are fully accessible for disabled people.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Ensuring our assessment services are accessible to all claimants is a priority in line with the standards under the Equality Act 2010. Where customers are not able to access an assessment at one of our assessment centres, our assessment providers provide an alternative method of delivering the service. For example they may arrange an appointment at an alternative nearby assessment centre or arrange a home visit.
Asked by: Lord Beecham (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether young people who were formerly on the edge of care are included in the provisions of the Universal Credit (Housing Costs Element for claimants aged 18 to 21) (Amendment) Regulations 2017; if so, why; and what is their estimate of the number of such persons who are so included.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
Young people who were formally on the edge of care are included in the provisions of the Universal Credit (Housing Costs Element for claimants aged 18 to 21) (Amendment) Regulations 2017. However, if it would be inappropriate for such a young person to live with their parents, then they are exempted from these provisions, which gives the necessary protection to this group.
Asked by: Lord Beecham (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many households in Newcastle upon Tyne they estimate will suffer reductions in housing benefit as a result of the new cap on housing benefits to be introduced on 7 November, and what they estimate will be the size of the annual savings engendered by the cut in Newcastle.
Answered by Lord Freud
It is estimated that around 500 households in Newcastle Upon Tyne will be affected by the lower benefit cap in 2016/17. The annual benefit reduction from the lower cap is estimated to be around £1.3 million in 2016/17 if the cap was in place for the full financial year, however actual savings will be much lower in view of the lower cap only applying to the latter part of the year.
Notes:
The benefit cap will be lowered from 7th November from £26,000 to £20,000, except in London where it will be lowered to £23,000 (a lower cap applies to single adult households). To help ensure Local Authorities are able to protect the most vulnerable Housing Benefit claimants and to support households adjusting to our welfare reforms, the Government will provide £870m funding for Discretionary Housing Payments over the next 5 years from 2016/17.
Asked by: Lord Beecham (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the number of supported housing properties likely to be affected by the proposed reduction in housing benefit, and what is their estimate of the range of weekly costs to tenants of such properties.
Answered by Lord Freud
Supported accommodation plays a vital role in the lives of many vulnerable people. That is why on 15 September 2016 we announced, via a Written Ministerial Statement, that we would be deferring the application of Local Housing Allowance Rates in the social sector for supported housing until 2019/20, at which point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents.
Asked by: Lord Beecham (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is (1) the role, and (2) the annual cost, of presenting officers employed by the Department for Work and Pensions in relation to benefit appeals.
Answered by Baroness Altmann
The role of the Presenting Officer is to present the Department’s case effectively thereby helping the tribunal reach the right decisions and to gather feedback from the tribunal for its decision makers.
The year to date costs for existing DWP Presenting Officers (to January 2016) is approx. £1.5m.