Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report on changes to women’s State Pension age, published on 21 March 2024, what correspondence his Department has received from Women Against State Pension Inequality representatives on that matter since publication of that report.
Answered by Paul Maynard
A search had been conducted within the Ministerial Correspondence Team and one letter has been received. However, as the Department does not have a centrally collated database a further search would incur disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report report on changes to women’s State Pension age, published on 21 March 2024, if he will meet with Women Against State Pension Inequality representatives.
Answered by Paul Maynard
In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of the House, and a further update to the House will be provided once the report's findings have been fully considered.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an estimate of the average financial impact of changes to the State Pension age for women born in the 1950s residing in Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Answered by Paul Maynard
We do not hold regional figures on the financial impact of changes to State Pension age.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit decisions were subject to an appeal by the claimant in 2022 in Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
From 01 January 2022 to 30 September 2022, there were 30 Universal Credit appeals lodged by claimants in the Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Notes:
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve the take-up of Pension Credit in Kingston upon Hull North constituency.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Pension Credit provides vital financial support to pensioners on a low income. In Kingston upon Hull North some 2,400 pensioners already receive Pension Credit, but we want all those who are eligible to claim it. That’s why the Department launched a £1.2m nationwide communications campaign in April to raise awareness of Pension Credit and increase take-up. The campaign included a whole range of activities including:
Last month we undertook a further burst of communications activity, including press and radio advertising and social media to highlight to pensioners that if they applied for Pension Credit by 18 December, it would not be too late to qualify for a £324 Cost of Living Payment – subject to Pension Credit backdating rules.
On 7 December, around 40 MPs attended a Pension Credit event at Portcullis House which I hosted. I was pleased to hear about the work that a number of MPs are already doing to help their constituents make a claim and also that others pledged to help promote Pension Credit.
In the coming weeks, DWP will write to over 11 million pensioners to notify them of the up-rating of their State Pensions. As with last year, a leaflet accompanying the notification includes information promoting Pension Credit. This has been updated to include a more prominent ‘call to action’ using the Pension Credit campaign messaging to encourage eligible pensioners to make a claim.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help pensioners in Kingston upon Hull North constituency access (a) information about their eligibility for Pension Credit and (b) Pension Credit.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
Pension Credit provides vital financial support to pensioners on a low income. In Kingston upon Hull North some 2,400 pensioners already receive Pension Credit, but we want all those who are eligible to claim it. That’s why the Department launched a £1.2m nationwide communications campaign in April to raise awareness of Pension Credit and increase take-up. The campaign included a whole range of activities including:
Last month we undertook a further burst of communications activity, including press and radio advertising and social media to highlight to pensioners that if they applied for Pension Credit by 18 December, it would not be too late to qualify for a £324 Cost of Living Payment – subject to Pension Credit backdating rules.
On 7 December, around 40 MPs attended a Pension Credit event at Portcullis House which I hosted. I was pleased to hear about the work that a number of MPs are already doing to help their constituents make a claim and also that others pledged to help promote Pension Credit.
In the coming weeks, DWP will write to over 11 million pensioners to notify them of the up-rating of their State Pensions. As with last year, a leaflet accompanying the notification includes information promoting Pension Credit. This has been updated to include a more prominent ‘call to action’ using the Pension Credit campaign messaging to encourage eligible pensioners to make a claim.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what was the average waiting time for a Work Capability Assessment in Kingston upon Hull North constituency in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to help support low income private renters with the cost of living.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The Government announced over £37bn of cost of living support earlier this year which includes an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. This is in addition to the energy bill support announced in September.
In the private rented sector, Local Housing Allowance (LHA) determines the maximum financial support available for renters. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas. In April 2020 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates were increased to the 30th percentile of local rents. This significant investment of nearly £1 billion provided 1.5 million claimants with an average £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received.
LHA rates have been maintained at their increased levels since then, so that everyone who benefitted from the increase will continue to do so.
For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available. Since 2011 we have provided almost £1.5 billion in DHPs to local authorities.
The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has taken further decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee is supporting millions of households with rising energy costs, and the Chancellor made clear it will continue to do so from now until April next year. This is in addition to the over £37bn of cost of living support announced earlier this year which includes the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. Also included is an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
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 of the freeze on Local Housing Allowance rates on the ability of private renters to pay rent.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are not intended to meet all rents in all areas. For Great Britain in May 2022, 55% of the households on LHA had rents higher than the LHA rates. For these households the average gap was £146 per month.
In April 2020 LHA rates were increased to the 30th percentile of local rents. This investment of nearly £1 billion provided 1.5 million claimants with an average £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received.
LHA rates have been maintained at their increased levels since then, so that everyone who benefitted from the increase will continue to do so.
For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 we have provided almost £1.5 billion in DHPs.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans her Department has to improve child maintenance services for parents attempting to access unpaid maintenance payments from parents on with high income.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) already has strong enforcement powers in place to recover unpaid child maintenance, including powers to deduct directly from earnings and from a wide range of bank accounts, seizing goods and forcing the sale of a property.
The CMS can also pursue sanctions against those parents who are unwilling to meet their responsibilities such as disqualification from driving, confiscating a UK Passport or commitment to prison. Curfew powers are currently being consulted on which will help ensure CMS can use the right lever to obtain compliance.
Child Maintenance payments are considered a high priority and paying parents are encouraged to prioritise these against other outgoings.