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 steps the Government is taking to reduce the number of disabled people living in poverty in the UK.
Answered by Chloe Smith
Spending on benefits for disabled people and people with long-term health conditions is currently the highest it has ever been. In 2021/22 we are forecast to spend £59 billion. Latest statistics (2019/20) show that rates of absolute poverty, both before and after housing costs for individuals living in disabled families are down since 2009/10.
We are working to make sure that money spent on supporting disabled people and people with health conditions has a positive impact on their lives and we want to go further to support and empower disabled people and people with health conditions. Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper, published earlier this year, is one key way we are seeking to do this. The Green Paper seeks to ensure the welfare system is an enabler to work through improving our strong and effective package of employment support. Alongside the Green Paper, the National Disability Strategy and the Health Is Everyone’s Business consultation response form part of a holistic approach to enable disabled people and people with health conditions to live independent lives.
Whilst the consultation period for this publication has now closed, we are working through over 4,500 responses from individuals, charities, and organisations to analyse responses and improve health and disability policies. We continue to engage with stakeholders, particularly on the broader aspects of the paper that focus on future reform and remain committed to responding to this Green Paper consultation with a White Paper in mid-2022.
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 fiscal steps she is taking to reduce child food poverty.
Answered by David Rutley
This Government is wholly committed to supporting low-income families, including through spending over £110 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22 and by increasing the National Living Wage by 6.6% to £9.50 from April 2022.
As our recovery gathers pace and with record vacancies, our focus now is on continuing to support parents into, and to progress in, work. This is because we know that work, particularly where it is full-time, substantially reduces the risks of child poverty and improves long-term outcomes for families and children.
Given clear evidence that parental employment, particularly where it is full-time, substantially reduces the risks of child poverty, we are focusing on supporting employment. With record vacancies in the economy, there are opportunities available across the UK and our multi-billion-pound Plan for Jobs, which has recently been expanded by £500 million, is helping people to access them.
Universal Credit recipients in work will soon benefit from a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55%, while eligible in-work claimants will also benefit from changes to the Work Allowance. These measures represent, for the lowest paid in society, an effective tax cut of around £2.2 Billion in 2022-23, and will benefit almost two million of the lowest paid workers by £1000 a year on average.
We recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials.
To support low income families further we have increased the value of Healthy Start Food Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25, helping eligible low income households buy basic foods like milk, fruit and vitamins, and we are also investing over £200m a year from 2022 to continue our Holiday Activities and Food programme which is already providing enriching activities and healthy meals to children in all English LAs.
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 she will make it her policy that there be transitional protection on income entitlements for those transitioning from the legacy benefit system to the Universal Credit system.
Answered by David Rutley
When required to move to Universal Credit from legacy benefits, having been notified to do so by this Department, eligible claimants will be awarded transitional protection. This will ensure that their Universal Credit is not less than the sum of their legacy benefit payments at the point that they move to Universal Credit.
Claimants may also move from legacy benefits to Universal Credit when they experience a significant change in their circumstances that triggers a new claim to benefit. Transitional protection is not generally awardable in these cases as a claimant making a new claim due to changes in their circumstances has always been likely to receive a different benefit entitlement than on their previous benefit. This would be the case whether the new claim had occurred pre-Universal Credit system or on Universal Credit.
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 she or any of the Ministers in her Department use personal email addresses to conduct Government business.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Ministers will use a range of digital forms of communication for discussions in line with relevant guidance on information handling and security.
Ministers will have informal conversations from time to time, in person or remotely, and significant content relating to government business from such discussions is passed back to officials.
The Cabinet Office has previously published guidance on how information is held for the purposes of access to information, and how formal decisions are recorded for the official record. Ministers are also given advice on managing the security risks inherent in electronic communications.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which of her Department's non executive directors were appointed through open competition.
Answered by Guy Opperman
All Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) Non-Executive Board Members were recruited according to the guidance set out in the Corporate governance code for central government departments.
DWP announces the appointments (including reappointment dates) of Non-Executive Board Members, as well as their experience, in the Annual Report and Accounts. Our current Non-Executives are covered in the following Annual Report and Accounts.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dwp-annual-report-and-accounts-2020-to-2021//
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 steps her Department is taking to support young people with SEND into employment.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
All unemployed young people, including those with SEND, have access to work-focused coaching and referral to additional support tailored to address specific needs. There are a range of DWP initiatives that support disabled people to stay in and enter work. These include the Work and Health Programme, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Supported Internships, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services.
As part of the Government’s Plan for Jobs, the Kickstart programme is aimed specifically at young people. Disabled people or people with long-term health conditions can access the Kickstart programme, supported through Access to Work if required.
We have also increased the number of Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) to 1000 nationally. DEAs work alongside Work Coaches, including Youth Employability Coaches, specialising in finding the right support to help all customers that have a disability or health condition.