Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing additional protections for survivors of domestic abuse during the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and is providing £26bn in cost-of-living support for 2023/24. This includes Cost of Living Payments for the most vulnerable. In addition, the Home office Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan invests over £230 million, including over £140 million to support victims.
For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion. In England this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.
DWP recognises the pressures and challenges that this group face, which is why we have made Discretionary Housing Payments available to allow LAs to provide financial help with rental costs. These are aimed at a number of groups likely to be affected by welfare reforms, including individuals or families fleeing domestic violence and abuse. Discretionary Housing Payments may also be given to victims that have remained in their home, which has been adapted under a sanctuary scheme.
Jobcentres remain a safe place to share concerns and obtain advice and support for those impacted by domestic abuse.
- Shared Accommodation Rate
From 1 October 2022, up to 11,000 victims of domestic abuse and modern slavery on Universal Credit or Housing Benefit will be able to claim extra help towards their rental costs, as they will no longer be expected to share accommodation. These groups will be able to claim the higher one-bedroom rate of Local Housing Allowance. This is worth approximately £140 on average per month but the amount will vary depending on the area in which they live.
- Benefit cap levels increase
In April 2023, the government will also increase the benefit cap levels in line with inflation by 10.1%. The benefit cap levels will rise from £23,000 to £25,323 for families in Greater London and from £20,000 to £22,020 for families nationally. The levels for single households without children will rise from £15,410 to £16,967 in Greater London and from £13,400 to £14,753 nationally.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Minister for Women and Equalities about the equalities impact of (a) inflation on social security payments and (b) changes to work conditionality for part-time workers claiming Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Prentis of Banbury
The Secretary of State has a statutory obligation to annually review benefits and State Pensions. The review will commence shortly and as part of that review, the Secretary of State will consider a Public Sector Equality analysis and so have due regard to her obligations under the Equality Act 2010.
Regarding changes to in-work conditionality for part-time workers claiming Universal Credit, the department will be publishing an Equality Analysis of the impact of the changes in due course.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether a person will continue to be treated as living alone under the qualifying conditions for the severe disability premium in the event that they are hosting Ukrainian refugees under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Ukrainian refugees living temporarily with a host, are not considered to be normally residing with them. This means that the host will not lose their entitlement to the severe disability premium.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the under occupancy charge will be removed in the event that a previously unoccupied room is occupied by Ukrainian refugees hosted under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.
Answered by David Rutley
Under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme the Ukrainian nationals are treated as not normally residing with their host. This means that there is no change to the number of bedrooms which the claimant is entitled to under the removal of the spare room subsidy or the Local Housing Allowance.
We are grateful to those playing their part in supporting Ukrainians fleeing the invasion and have ensured that the £350 a month ‘thank you’ payment will not affect the benefits payments of claimants who have generously provided a spare room.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to ensure that the cap for the childcare element of universal credit reflects rising costs of childcare.
Answered by David Rutley
We know that for some UC claimants’, the cost of childcare makes it more difficult to enter work. To support parents to start work, eligible UC claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month regardless of the number of hours they work. This is higher than under tax credits, which reimbursed up to 70%.
This is up to the maximum amount of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children. For families with two children, this could be worth up to £13,000 a year. Currently we do not have any plans to increase the childcare caps but continue to keep the policy under review.
In cases where people need to pay for childcare upfront, prior to starting work, Work Coaches can use the Flexible Support Fund for eligible claimants to meet these costs until their first wage is received.
The UC childcare policy aligns with the wider government childcare offer in England and there are similar funded early learning offers in devolved nations. The free childcare offer provides 15 hours a week of free childcare in England for all 3 and 4 year olds and disadvantaged 2 year olds, doubling for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds to 30 hours a week.
The UC childcare element can be used to top up a claimant’s eligible free childcare hours if more hours are worked and childcare required.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Flexible Support Fund payments are offered to single parents for the purposes of enabling them to meet the new job-seeking requirements in the Way to Work campaign.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Way to Work is a campaign to move job-ready claimants into work faster and fill vacancies more quickly. We are supporting jobseekers by providing new claimants with more time with their Work Coaches. Individual circumstances, such as childcare arrangements, are always taken into account and agreed with the claimants as part of the Claimant Commitment meeting. At that stage, Work Coaches will agree with the claimant what they are able to do with respect to finding and having a job as well as discussing eligibility for support through the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) and how this might suit their circumstances.
The FSF is a non-recoverable discretionary fund that Jobcentre staff can use to purchase goods or services to supplement mainstream services and tailor support to the needs of individuals and the local area. Work Coaches have flexibility and discretion to make awards that will enhance the employment prospects of eligible claimants with whom they are engaged. A key element of Flexible Support Fund is giving Work Coaches a means by which they can support claimants move into work, such as paying for upfront childcare costs, travel costs to interviews and for clothing, tools and equipment needed to start work.
No changes to the FSF or the policy around have been made as a result of the Way to Work Campaign.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Work Coaches are routinely offering Flexible Support Fund payments to help parents who may face challenges in meeting all or part of the upfront costs of their childcare.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Department is fully committed to supporting parents moving into work. In Universal Credit, childcare costs can be claimed up to a month before starting a job. Eligible Universal Credit claimants can claim back up to 85 per cent of eligible childcare costs each month, up to the maximum amount of £646.35 per month for one child and £1,108.04 per month for two or more children, regardless of the number of hours they work.
In cases where people need to pay for childcare upfront, prior to starting work, Work Coaches may be able to use the Flexible Support Fund for eligible claimants to meet these costs until their first wage is received. Budgeting advances are also available to eligible claimants who require help with upfront costs, for example when altering hours worked or changing childcare providers.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the proportion of pregnant women in the workplace (a) whose employer undertakes an individual risk assessment and (b) who report that all risks were addressed during that assessment.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a long established advice line where concerns can be raised, general enquiries answered and where appropriate, referred to policy, inspector and occupational health specialists for further advice. This includes advice on risk assessment and management for pregnant women and new mothers. Ways to contact HSE
HSE do not hold data on the number of pregnant women whose employer undertakes an individual risk assessment and who report that all risks were addressed during that assessment.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there is a specialist Health and Safety Executive service to deliver advice to employers, employees and local authority officers on risk assessment and management for pregnant women and new mothers in the workplace.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a long established advice line where concerns can be raised, general enquiries answered and where appropriate, referred to policy, inspector and occupational health specialists for further advice. This includes advice on risk assessment and management for pregnant women and new mothers. Ways to contact HSE
HSE do not hold data on the number of pregnant women whose employer undertakes an individual risk assessment and who report that all risks were addressed during that assessment.