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Written Question
Poverty: Families
Thursday 7th March 2024

Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps the Government has taken to ensure that families living in poverty in the UK have sufficient (a) food (b) energy and (c) basic household goods.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children.

Working age benefits will increase by 6.7% from April 2024. We are also raising the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents in April 2024, benefiting 1.6 million low-income households.

With over 900,000 vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting parents to move into and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risk of child poverty. The latest statistics show that, in 2021/22, children living in workless households were around 5 times more likely to be in absolute poverty after housing costs than those where all adults work.

Our core Jobcentre offer provides a range of options to help people into work, including face-to-face time with Work Coaches and targeted employment support. We will also increase the National Living Wage by 9.8% to £11.44 for workers aged 21 years and over from this April - an annual increase in gross earnings of over £1800 for someone working full-time on the National Living Wage.

To further help parents on Universal Credit who are moving into work or increasing their hours, the Government is providing additional support with upfront childcare costs. We have also increased the childcare costs that parents on Universal Credit can claim back by nearly 50%, up to £951 a month for one child and £1,630 for two or more children.

As announced in Spring Budget, £500m of additional funding also enables the extension of the Household Support Fund, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means that Local Authorities in England will receive an additional £421m to support those in need locally through the Household Support Fund.


Written Question
Household Support Fund
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has with (a) the Local Government Association and (b) leaders of local authorities on the potential merits of extending the Household Support Fund beyond March 2024.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way. Equality analysis was considered as part of the decision to implement the current Household Support Fund, which runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024.


Written Question
Household Support Fund
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has undertaken an equality impact assessment on the potential effects of (a) reducing and (b) ending the Household Support Fund in March 2024.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way. Equality analysis was considered as part of the decision to implement the current Household Support Fund, which runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024.


Written Question
Household Support Fund
Tuesday 13th February 2024

Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Local Government Association and (b) local authorities on the merits of the Household Support Fund.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.


Written Question
Disability: Cost of Living
Monday 22nd January 2024

Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of increases in the cost of living on people with disabilities; and what recent steps his Department has taken to increase cost of living support for people with disabilities.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has demonstrated its commitment to supporting the most vulnerable by providing one of the largest support packages in Europe. Taken together, support to households to help with the high cost of living is worth £104 billion over 2022/23 to 2024/25.

In April 2023, we uprated working-age and extra costs disability benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%. From this April, and subject to Parliamentary approval, we also intend to uprate working-age and extra costs disability benefit rates by 6.7%. The increase in the Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rates will give further help to 1.6 million low-income households.

For 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to £900 in Cost of Living Payments. This will be split into three payments across the 2023/24 financial year, with the first two payments having already been made and the final payment of £299 being paid between 6 February and 22 February. A separate £150 payment was made to individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits, including PIP, from 20 June. In addition, more than eight million pensioner households across the UK received a £300 Cost of Living Payment during winter 2023-24. The Department estimates that over 2023/24 nearly 60% of individuals that receive a qualifying disability benefit will receive additional support through a means-tested benefit payment, and over 85% will receive either or both of the means-tested and Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.


Written Question
Assistance Animals: Registration
Monday 22nd January 2024

Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)

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 creating a national register for trained service dogs.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Standards for assistance dogs are currently and historically maintained on the basis of a voluntary regulatory framework. There is no specific legislation for the regulation of assistance dogs and no legislation is planned.

There are recognised standards for assistance dogs worldwide set by international bodies by which a number of UK charities and organisations are accredited. Assistance dogs are also provided by other charities and private sector organisations, including owner trainers, which are not accredited by international bodies.

Assistance dogs or other animals might be regarded as such, if they serve to mitigate disabilities, whether physical, mental or behavioural conditions, and they have sufficient training to warrant public access.

The Disability Action Plan consultation (DAP), which ran from July to October 2023, contained specific questions about assistance dogs and access to businesses and services. We have analysed the consultation responses carefully and we aim to publish the final Disability Action Plan as soon as possible.

The Disability Action Plan will set out the immediate action we will be taking in 2024 to improve disabled people’s lives, including to improve support for people with assistance dogs and reduce access refusals, as well as laying the foundations for longer term change. It will complement the National Disability Strategy, which sets out our long term vision for disabled people in the UK.


Written Question
Personal Independence Payment: Multiple Sclerosis
Thursday 11th May 2023

Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of (a) the 20-metre rule, (b) informal observations and (c) the 50 per cent rule for accurately assessing the impact of Multiple sclerosis during Personal Independence Payment assessments.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

As referenced in my responses on 21 April 2023, UIN181230, and 24 April 2023, UIN181064:

  • We believe the current assessment criteria, including the 20-metre rule, are the best way of identifying people whose physical mobility is most limited and there are no immediate plans to make changes.
  • Informal observations are useful in assessing functional capability and there are no current plans to stop this.
  • The department closely monitors all aspects of the assessment process, including how we assess fluctuating health conditions like multiple sclerosis, however there are no current plans to remove the 50 per cent rule.

Written Question
Disability: Children
Wednesday 19th April 2023

Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association’s Out Of Pocket campaign, if he will uplift the disabled child elements of Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit by £15 a month in addition to the CPI-linked uplift.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

There are no plans to further increase the disabled child elements of Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit beyond the annual uprating that occurred in April 2023.


Written Question
Migrants: Finance
Friday 17th March 2023

Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of the No Recourse to Public Funds policy on (a) child poverty and (b) child health inequalities.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department has made no recent assessments, and it has no plans to do so in the future.

DWP has no powers to award public funds benefits to an individual whose Home Office immigration status restricts access to public funds. Those on certain visa routes, including the family and human rights routes, can apply, for free, to have public funds access restrictions lifted if they are destitute or at risk of destitution, if the welfare of their child is at risk due to their low income, or where there are other exceptional financial circumstances.

Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 imposes a general duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of “children in need” in their area. Support provided to a child by local authorities under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 is not dependent on the immigration status of the child or their parent(s). In addition, individuals with no recourse to public funds can also benefit from the Household Support Fund and may be able to receive support in limited circumstances, as determined by Local Authorities.


Written Question
Cost of Living Payments: Migrants
Friday 17th March 2023

Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)

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 extending eligibility for cost of living support schemes to include people with no recourse to public funds.

Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government has provided a wide range of measures to support with the cost of living in 22/23, including the Energy Bill Support Scheme and the Energy Price Guarantee which are available to all households with a domestic electricity bill. To ensure stability and certainty for households we are providing further cost of living support in 2023/24, including maintaining the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 for a further three months, from April 2023.

There is a general expectation that people wishing to come to the UK can maintain themselves and their families until they are settled here. Those granted immigration leave with a No Recourse to Public Funds condition are not therefore eligible for means-tested benefits or the Cost of Living Payment. However, we are increasing the National Living Wage (NLW) by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over, from 1 April 2023 for those individuals who have a right to work.

Local Authorities can provide a basic safety net support to an individual, regardless of their immigration status, if there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example if:

  • there are community care needs
  • they have serious health problems
  • there is a risk to a child’s wellbeing

Local Authorities must use their judgement to decide what legal powers and funding can be used to support individuals who are ineligible for public funds or statutory housing assistance.