Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, UK Poverty 2018, published on 4 December, that 22 per cent of the population are in poverty; and what action they intend to take to remedy the situation.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The figure quoted by the Joseph Rowntree Trust in this report is taken from official national statistics on the number and proportion of people in low income published by the Department for Work and Pensions in March 2018. These statistics show that there are one million fewer people living in absolute poverty since 2010, including 300,000 children.
This Government believes that the best way of tackling poverty is by building a strong economy and getting people into work. Adults in workless families are around 4 times more likely to be in poverty than those in working families. Children in workless households are around 5 times more likely to be in poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work. Nationally, there are now over 3.3 million more people in work, around 964,000 fewer workless households, and around 637,000 fewer children living in such households compared with 2010. This is why we will continue with our reforms to the welfare system so that it encourages work whilst supporting those who need help.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Henley on 1 March concerning the Pensioners' Christmas Bonus (HL5502) what would the value of the £10 bonus be in real terms had the bonus been increased in line with the cost of living and increases in incomes.
Answered by Baroness Buscombe
The Christmas Bonus was introduced in 1972 and was £10. If it had been increased in line with the cost of living, in 2016 its current value would be approximately £133. If it had been increased in line with average earnings, in 2016 it would be approximately £202.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Freud on 22 March (HL6812) about state benefits, why they have not made an assessment of the percentage of food poverty or insecurity that is caused by state benefits being used for purposes other than to provide necessities; and whether they will now carry one out.
Answered by Lord Freud
Food poverty is the inability of individuals and households to obtain an adequate and nutritious diet, often because they cannot afford healthy food or there is a lack of shops in their area that are easy to reach. There is no single commonly agreed method for accurately measuring the extent of food poverty. Given these challenges we do not think that it would be worth the Department commissioning such research.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the percentage of food poverty or insecurity that is caused by state benefits being used for purposes other than to provide necessities.
Answered by Lord Freud
There has been no such assessment.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their definition of poverty.
Answered by Lord Freud
Poverty is complex and affects different people in different ways throughout their lives. As such, the Government does not have one recognised definition, or measure, of poverty which applies to everyone’s stage of someone’s life. Our focus is on ensuring we have measures which drive the right approaches to tackling the root causes of poverty.Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take action to ensure that the state pension is treated as a contributory pension and not a welfare benefit.
Answered by Lord Freud
The state pension is based on the National Insurance contributions a person has paid or been credited with and it is paid out of the National Insurance Fund. The state pension is technically and legally a benefit and has been so since the 1946 National Insurance Act. The Government does not include the state pension in the Welfare Cap.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 1 July concerning youth unemployment (WA 254), whether they will take steps to ensure that employment policy remains a national policy.
Answered by Lord Freud
Tackling unemployment is essential for sustainable economic growth in the UK and the EU. Where labour market reforms are needed in Member States, these should be encouraged. Opportunities at the EU level to exchange best practice and identify areas for reform exist, in particular through the European Semester process. However, as is recognised in Article 147 of the Lisbon Treaty, responsibility for employment policies rests with the Member States. The Government continues to be firm and vigilant on this principle. It is also very clear that the UK will not take part in any deeper co-operation that may be developed for countries in the Eurozone.
Asked by: Lord Stoddart of Swindon (Independent Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Lord Freud on 18 June (WS 91), whether the proposals made by the Council of Ministers on 19 June will result in steps towards ever-closer union.
Answered by Lord Freud
The Council of Ministers meeting on 19 June on Employment and Social Policy covered ongoing discussions on a number of dossiers which may feed into wider Council negotiations.