Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to contact vulnerable individuals in (a) remote and (b) rural areas with low broadband connectivity.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions utilise a range of channels to ensure vulnerable customers and those with limited broadband can access support.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants on a non-monthly earning cycle missed out on each of the first and second Cost of Living Payment instalments due to receiving a nil Universal Credit award as a result of higher earnings than usual during the qualifying assessment period.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
It is not possible to identify how many households did not receive the Cost of Living payment because of the way their wages were paid during the qualifying month.
A claimant may not be eligible to receive a Cost of Living payment if they have an increase earnings during the qualifying period. We are unable to distinguish whether this fluctuation is temporary or permanent. This fluctuation could be the result of a household receiving additional earnings due to being paid more frequently or another reason.
During the first qualifying period, with an assessment period end date between 26/4/2022 and 25/5/2022 inclusive, there were 464,000 Universal Credit households where earnings reduced their Universal Credit award to £0 for the qualifying period. This was equivalent to 551,000 Universal Credit claimants.
Figures for the second Cost of Living payment are not available as these payments have not yet been made.
In collaboration with Local Authorities we have a well-established system of hardship payments, including the Discretionary Housing Payments, available as a safeguard for if claimants demonstrate they cannot meet their immediate and most essential needs due to the rise in the cost of living. For those who require additional support we have provided an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £421m, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023. The devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula as usual.
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.
2. Great Britain level figures have been provided.
3. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.
4. Numbers are not comparable with Official Statistics Household series as a household may receive a nil award for reasons other than earnings.
5. The methodology and data source used is different to those used to derive the Official Statistics Household series.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 raise awareness of social tariffs on broadband packages for consumers in receipt of benefits.
Answered by Julie Marson
DWP works with DCMS and Ofcom to encourage broadband providers to extend eligibility of broadband social tariffs to low-income households. Because of this, some broadband providers have made social tariffs available to Universal Credit claimants and other claimants receiving means tested benefits. DWP will work with Ofcom to raise claimant awareness of these tariffs with via our national Jobcentre Plus Work Coach network and wider stakeholders.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
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 share data with broadband providers on consumers in receipt of benefits for the purposes of increasing the efficiency and speed of the vetting process for applications for social tariffs.
Answered by Julie Marson
DWP currently have a verification system in place with BT to confirm benefit eligibility, allowing claimants to access the BT Basics social tariff.
DWP is developing a new API service which will enable more Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to confirm eligibility for broadband social tariffs.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has plans to review the universal credit policy that means single parents under the age of 25 claim universal credit at a lower rate than those aged 25 or over.
Answered by Will Quince
The rates for claimants under 25 years reflect the fact that they are more likely to live in someone else's household and have lower living costs and lower earnings expectations. It also reinforces the stronger work incentives that Universal Credit creates for this age group.
Universal Credit offers excellent employment support for this age group, including the Department’s £2bn Kickstart scheme which is already creating thousands of high-quality jobs for young people.
For claimants who live independently, Universal Credit already includes separate elements to provide support for housing costs, children and childcare costs and support for disabled people and carers.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
What recent assessment she has made of the potential effect of removing the £20 uplift to universal credit on recipients in each (a) region and (b) population demographic.
Answered by Will Quince
The £20 per week uplift to Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit was announced by the Chancellor as a temporary measure in March 2020 to support those facing the most financial disruption as a result of the public health emergency. This measure remains in place until March 2021. As the Government has done throughout this pandemic, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context before making any decisions.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has commissioned research on the potential effect on the mental wellbeing of universal credit claimants of removing the work conditionality and sanctions regime.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
We have not commissioned research on the potential mental wellbeing of universal credit claimants of removing the conditionality and sanctions regime. We engage with all of our claimants at a personal and individual level and are committed to tailoring support for specific individual needs, including agreeing realistic and structured steps to encourage claimants into or towards the labour market. These requirements are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain appropriate for every claimant. Sanctions are only ever applied where someone fails to comply with these requirements without a good reason.