Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
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 close the gender pension gap.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The gender pension gap is a complex issue tied to the labour market, the private pensions system and demographic differences, but one the government takes very seriously.
Addressing the gender pensions gap will only be possible through the collective effort of government, employers and industry.
The new State Pension was designed to correct some of the historic unfairness in the previous system, in particular for women. Our reforms are working, under the pre-2016 system women receive 85% of the amount received by men. This is currently 97% under the new State Pension.
Automatic enrolment (AE) has helped millions more women to save into a pension, with pension participation rates among eligible women in the private sector rising from 40% in 2012 to 86% in 2022.
The government is committed to build on this success and is making progress on implementing the measures as set out in the 2017 review of AE. The Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Act 2023 was introduced into Parliament with government support and provides the necessary powers.
Once implemented, the measures will disproportionately increase the pension saving of lower earners; a woman working part-time earning National Living Wage could see her pension almost double as a result when saving over her career.
Our labour market policies will also help. Working parents will soon be even better supported through the extension of free childcare announced in the Spring budget in 2023. DWP also announced generous additional financial help to encourage and support lead carers of children who are receiving Universal Credit to move into or progress in work.
By 2027-28, the Government will expect to be spending in excess of £8bn every year on free childcare hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.
And we are working with stakeholders across government to better understand the challenge of the gender pension gap. In June, DWP published an official measure of this wealth gap, which is currently 35% between men and women shortly before they retire. The wealth gap between men and women who are eligible for automatic enrolment is lower, at 32%.
The publication of an official annual measure will help us track the collective efforts of government, industry and employers to reduce the Gender Pension Gap.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of applying adult rate (a) Universal Credit and (b) other benefits to people aged over 21.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of households with children aged between eight and eighteen years old that are in receipt of Universal Credit and are earning at or above £40k per year.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The latest available data, for December 2022, show there are approximately 8,500 households on UC that have total net earnings of £3,333 per assessment period which equates to annual net earnings at or above £40,000 and have children aged between eight and eighteen years old.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
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 potential effect of the £20 uplift in Universal Credit on levels of child poverty in (a) England, and (b) Liverpool, Riverside constituency.
Answered by Will Quince
No assessment has been made.
This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, including by increasing the living wage, and by spending an estimated £112 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2020/21. This included around £7.4 billion of Covid-related welfare policy measures.
We introduced our Covid Winter Grant Scheme providing funding to Local Authorities in England to help the most vulnerable children and families stay warm and well fed during the coldest months. It will now until June as the Covid Local Support Grant, with a total investment of £269m.
As the economy recovers, our ambition is to help people move into and progress in work as quickly as possible based on clear evidence around the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. We are investing over £30 billion in our ambitious Plan for Jobs which is already delivering for people of all ages right across the country.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the levels of child poverty in (a) England, and (b) Liverpool, Riverside constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.
Answered by Will Quince
This Government is wholly committed to tackling poverty. Throughout the pandemic, our priority has been to support the most vulnerable including through spending an additional £7.4billion to strengthen the welfare system, taking our total expenditure on welfare support for people of working age to an estimated £112 billion in 2020/21. Additionally, in December 2020 we introduced our Covid Winter Grant Scheme, providing funding to Local Authorities in England to enable them to support people with food and essential utility bills during the coldest months. It will now run until June as the Covid Local Support Grant, with a total investment of £269m.
National Statistics on the number and percentage of children in low income are published annually in the “Households Below Average Income” publication. Data for Liverpool is unavailable due to insufficient sample size.
Latest statistics for the levels of children who are in low income in England, covering 2019/20, can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2020,“children-hbai-timeseries-1994-95-2019-20-tables” in table 4.16ts (relative low income, before and after housing costs) and in table 4.22ts (absolute low income, before and after housing costs).
In the three years to 2019/20, the absolute child poverty rate, before housing costs, in England was 18%, down 3 percentage points since the three years to 2009/10.
The Department now publishes supplementary official statistics on the number of children in low income families at constituency level. Children in Low Income Families data is published annually.
In 2019/20 the absolute levels of child poverty in Liverpool, Riverside was 25%. The latest figures on the number of children who are in low income in Liverpool, Riverside and in England, covering 2019/20, can be found at:: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-2014-to-2020/children-in-low-income-families-local-area-statistics-fye-2015-to-fye-2020.
Due to methodological differences, the figures in these two publications are not comparable.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on whether the provision of first infant formula milk to formula fed babies at (a) baby and (b) food banks across the UK complies with relevant regulatory requirements.
Answered by Will Quince
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. Decisions about which donations to accept and make available to food bank users are therefore a matter for food bank providers.
Healthy Start vouchers support pregnant women or households with children under four, who are on a low income, with the cost of milk (including infant formula), fruit and vegetables helping to boost children’s long-term health. We are increasing the weekly value of these vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25 in April.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
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 potential benefits of bringing the pensions of UK citizens residing in primarily Commonwealth countries into line with UK citizens resident in the (a) EEA or (b) Switzerland.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions. Entitlement to the UK State Pension is based on a person’s National Insurance record without regard to nationality. The annual index-linked increases are paid to UK State Pension recipients where there is a legal requirement to do so. For example, where UK State Pension recipients are living in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. The Government has no plans to change this policy.