Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government's announcement during Budget 2020 to extend the exemptions from the Shared Accommodation Rate, if he will bring forward the planned exemption for survivors of domestic abuse and human trafficking; for what reasons that category of persons were not included in the recent decision to bring forward the exemption for rough sleepers aged 16-24 and care leavers up to age 25 to June 2021; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
The additional support to expand existing exemptions for care leavers and former residents of homeless hostels has been brought forward by over two years and made available from 31
May 2021.
For those who require additional housing support and whose circumstances may make it difficult for them to share accommodation, Discretionary Housing Payments are
available. Since 2011, the government has provided over £1 billion in Discretionary Housing Payments to local authorities to help support vulnerable people.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to Answer of 17 May to Question 314 on Disability: Public Consultation, if she will (a) specify in which month she plans to publish the Green Paper, and (b) set out the mechanisms by which she is continuing engagement with disabled people and their representatives; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Given the necessary focus on the departmental response to Covid-19, we are working to a longer timescale than previously anticipated. There is no set date for publication but we plan to publish in the coming months.
The content of the Green Paper will be strongly influenced by the views of disabled people and their representatives. Over the last 12 months I have led a series of virtual events, organised with national charities, where I heard directly from disabled people about their experiences with the benefits system.
In February I wrote to all Members of Parliament to offer a virtual event with disabled people, charities and organisations in their constituency. We have held ten of these events so far and they will continue in the run up to the publication of the Green Paper and during the consultation period.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the criteria required to agree any new reciprocal social security agreements to cover pensions uprating.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The UK has no plans to change its longstanding policy position adopted by all governments for the last 70 + years so no assessment has been made.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an impact assessment of the effect of frozen UK pensions for UK pensioners living in Canada on the (a) household income and (b) health and wellbeing of those pensioners.
Answered by Guy Opperman
No impact assessment has been made because the UK has no plans to change its longstanding policy position adopted by all governments for the last 70 + years.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to UK pensioners living in Canada, if she will make it her policy to agree to the formal request made by the Canadian Government for a reciprocal agreement covering the uprating of pensions.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department for Work and Pensions plans to respond shortly on this issue.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect on rent arrears levels of the Government's policy of only allowing direct payments to landlords from universal credit claimants to commence once rent arrears have been amassed; if she will make it her policy to all enable universal credit claimants to choose to pay rent directly to their landlord from the start of their claim; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
Payments to landlords are already available at any point of a Universal Credit claim, if the tenant is likely to have difficulty in managing their rent payments or is in arrears. Such arrangements can be requested by either the claimant or the landlord and are considered on a case by case basis.
All Universal Credit claimants have the opportunity to discuss any concerns about how to budget their monthly payments with their work coach and/or via their UC Journal. UC staff will identify any financial issues the claimant has and signpost claimants to any relevant local face-to-face provision or support that is available and/or the Money Advice Service as appropriate.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2020 to Question 102027 on Local Housing Allowance: Young People, if she will publish a summary explanation of the changes to (a) legislation, (b) local authority policies and (c) universal credit IT systems required to extend the Shared Accommodation Rate exemption to care leavers aged 22 to 25 years old and homeless people under 25 years old; whether work on those changes has begun; whether that work will take three years from start to finish; if she will undertake a feasibility study of bringing forward the implementation of those changes; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Will Quince
Early policy and delivery work has begun to deliver these measures and the necessary legislation will be taken forward in due course. As announced in the Spring Budget 2020, these changes will be in place from October 2023.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of (a) the effect of non-take up of pension credit by eligible individuals on their need for health and social care services and (b) the implications for auto-enrolment for pension credit of advances in data-matching; if she will make it her policy to commission an auto-enrolment pilot of persons eligible for pension credit; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Guy Opperman
No such assessment has been made.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to provide social care workers with full sick pay; what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on providing full sick pay for social care workers; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
We want to ensure that social care workers who are unwell or self-isolating because of Covid-19 do not lose out financially because they are doing the right thing. In May, we announced an Adult Social Care Infection Control Fund, to be used on measures such as helping maintain the normal wages of social care staff who may need to self-isolate. This has now been extended until March 2021, meaning we have now ring-fenced over £1.1bn to support social care providers.
The Infection Control Fund and Test and Trace Support Payment are available to staff who are off work due to illnesses or self-isolation relating to coronavirus. This is on top of measures that allow the payment of Statutory Sick Pay from the first qualifying day of sickness or self-isolation.
For other sickness absences not relating to coronavirus, employees may be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay, which is paid from the fourth qualifying day. Eligibility conditions apply.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
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 Chancellor on the potential merits of removing the Shared Accommodation Rate exemptions for homeless young people and care leavers under-22 during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Will Quince
There are currently no plans to remove the existing exemptions from the Shared Accommodation Rate.
The Government remains committed to supporting homeless young people and care leavers and extending the exemptions to the shared accommodation rate by October 2023. The changes will require amendments to legislation as well as local authority and universal credit IT systems therefore they will take time to implement.
In the meantime, for individuals who may require more support and whose circumstances may make it difficult for them to share accommodation, Discretionary Housing Payments are available. We have provided £180m in Discretionary Housing Payment funding to local authorities to support vulnerable claimants with housing costs in England and Wales for 2020/21.