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Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Children
Wednesday 21st June 2023

Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make it his policy to end the two-child limit for benefit payments.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

No, there are no plans to end this policy.


Written Question
Poverty: Children
Wednesday 21st June 2023

Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of increases in child poverty levels in Preston constituency.

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

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 16 June 2023 to question number 188202


Written Question
Poverty: Children
Thursday 15th June 2023

Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce the levels of child poverty in Preston constituency.

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

The latest available data shows that the proportion of children in families in absolute low income in the Preston constituency in 2021/22 was 21.9%, a reduction of 3.5 percentage points compared with 2014/15 (the first year for which comparable data is available) and a reduction of 0.7 percentage points compared with 2020/21. Absolute poverty is the government’s preferred measure as the poverty line is fixed in real terms so is not affected by overall median income.

The Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and their children.

From April, we uprated benefit rates by 10.1%. In order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels have also increased by the same amount.

With 1.08 million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting individuals, including parents, to move into, and progress in work, an approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children. 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.

To further support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW.

At the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced an ambitious package of measures designed to support people wherever they live in the UK to enter work, increase their working hours and extend their working lives.

We are investing billions in additional childcare support for parents of toddlers, investing in wraparound childcare in schools, and increasing financial support for, and expectations of, parents claiming Universal Credit.

This government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising bills.

For people who require additional support, whether they receive benefits or not, the Household Support Fund will continue until March 2024. This year long extension allows Local Authorities in England to continue to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the significantly rising cost of living. For the period April 2023 to March 2024, Lancashire County Council has been allocated funding of £19,356,470.44 through the Fund. The Devolved Administrations will receive consequential funding as usual to spend at their discretion.


Written Question
Early Retirement: Menopause
Thursday 17th November 2022

Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) impact and (b) of women taking early retirement due to menopause symptoms.

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

The Department for Work and Pensions does not collect data on the impact of the menopause on employees taking early retirement.

Too many women feel forced either to leave work, reduce their hours, or take a step back in their careers, because of the menopause. In July 2021, the Minister for Employment commissioned the roundtable on older workers to look at the menopause and employment, emphasising the importance of support and understanding by employers. An independent menopause and the workplace report was published and the Government’s response was outlined. Alongside this, the Women’s Health Strategy sets out a range of commitments including encouraging employers to implement evidence-based workplace support and introduce workplace menopause policies.


Written Question
Social Security Benefits: Coronavirus
Tuesday 8th March 2022

Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)

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 tackle situations in which benefits may have been wrongly ended as a result of a lack of medical evidence related to the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Chloe Smith

DWP is not aware that there is a widespread issue where claims have been wrongly ended as a result of a lack of medical evidence. It might be helpful to note that to ensure ESA claimants received their payments on time, there was an easement in place on the requirement for medical evidence from the start of pandemic until summer 2020, when claimants could not easily access GPs. A similar easement was also applied between 17 December 2021 and 26 January 2022, to allow GPs to support the Covid-19 vaccine booster campaign.


Written Question
Employment: Menopause
Friday 4th March 2022

Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support she is providing to employers to help women considering leaving the workforce due to symptoms of menopause.

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

No assessment has been made on the economic impact of the menopause, but by retiring at 63 instead of 55, a female average earner that took a 10-year career break could have £180,000 extra income and might increase her pension pot by 50%.

Too many women feel forced either to leave work, reduce their hours, or take a step back in their careers, because of the menopause. That is why we asked the 50+ roundtable of employer organisations to look at menopause and employment, emphasising the importance of the provision of support by employers. An independent report is now published which the Government will respond to.

The Women’s Health Strategy will have menopause as a priority, and the UK wide Menopause task force will take a holistic approach to menopause care from healthcare to workplace support and education, enabling national coverage which will provide benefits at a local level.

Our 37 district 50PLUS Champions provide a local response, reinforcing Jobcentre Plus’s commitment to supporting over 50s claimants find and stay in work by sharing the benefits of employing over 50s to employers. Our champions utilise their knowledge and local links to support Work Coaches and employers to understand the characteristics of our customers and the issues that may affect them such as the impact of the menopause, helping them retain women’s skills and expertise.


Written Question
Early Retirement: Menopause
Friday 4th March 2022

Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)

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 economic effect of workers taking early retirement as a result of menopause.

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

No assessment has been made on the economic impact of the menopause, but by retiring at 63 instead of 55, a female average earner that took a 10-year career break could have £180,000 extra income and might increase her pension pot by 50%.

Too many women feel forced either to leave work, reduce their hours, or take a step back in their careers, because of the menopause. That is why we asked the 50+ roundtable of employer organisations to look at menopause and employment, emphasising the importance of the provision of support by employers. An independent report is now published which the Government will respond to.

The Women’s Health Strategy will have menopause as a priority, and the UK wide Menopause task force will take a holistic approach to menopause care from healthcare to workplace support and education, enabling national coverage which will provide benefits at a local level.

Our 37 district 50PLUS Champions provide a local response, reinforcing Jobcentre Plus’s commitment to supporting over 50s claimants find and stay in work by sharing the benefits of employing over 50s to employers. Our champions utilise their knowledge and local links to support Work Coaches and employers to understand the characteristics of our customers and the issues that may affect them such as the impact of the menopause, helping them retain women’s skills and expertise.


Written Question
Pensions: Menopause
Thursday 3rd March 2022

Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the extent of the potential impact on pensions of women with menopause symptoms retiring early.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

No such assessment has been made.


Written Question
Unemployment: Coronavirus
Tuesday 6th July 2021

Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)

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 tackle the jobless rates for (a) recent education-leavers and (b) young black people as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

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

This Government’s Plan for Jobs is delivering a comprehensive package of support for all young people – including education leavers and those from an ethnic minority – which DWP is providing in collaboration with the Department for Education, schools and other partners.

For young people from all backgrounds, the DWP Youth Offer is the wrap-around support programme, helping young people access so much of the positive provision stood up as part of the Plan for Jobs. The Youth Offer includes Youth Hubs, which are co-located and co-delivered with our network of external partners to offer a range of skills and work-related services to help young people access the labour market.

The Government has also implemented a range of measures to help deliver on our commitment to provide all young people with opportunities to develop skills that will enable them to secure jobs in productive and fulfilling careers, including help for young people through Kickstart. Jobs from the Kickstart Scheme are open to 16–24-year-olds, who are claiming Universal Credit, and are at risk of long-term unemployment. Young people can speak to their work coach to find out more.

We have supported the development of the Department for Education’s Graduate Employment and Skills Guide that is published on the Office for Students website. The guide is designed to help final-year students and recent graduates by signposting to a range of public, private and voluntary sector opportunities. In addition, the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme provides targeted local and regional support on NEET prevention to raise young people’s aspirations and support their post-education progression.

DWP recognises the need for targeted support to help ethnic minority job seekers into work. We work with a range of partners and employers in this area, including on a national programme of mentoring circles.


Written Question
Children: Poverty
Tuesday 6th July 2021

Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department plans to take to tackle child poverty in (a) England, (b) the North West, (c) Lancashire and (d) Preston constituency.

Answered by Will Quince

This Government is wholly committed to tackling child poverty. Throughout the pandemic, our priority has been to protect the most vulnerable including spending an additional £7.4 billion last year to strengthen the welfare system for those most in need, taking our total expenditure on welfare support for people of working age to around £111bn in 2020/21.

Our Covid Local Support Grant is ensuring that families across England get help with food and essential utility bills. We have now extended this temporary scheme for a final time with an additional £160 million in funding between 21 June and 30 September, taking total funding under the scheme to £429 million. This funding recognises that while restrictions are planned to end in July, families might need additional help to get back on their feet as the vaccine rollout continues and our economy recovers. For Lancashire County Council this means total funding of £9,896,582.81.

This Government has long championed the principle of work as the best route out of poverty and towards financial independence. In 2019/20, there was only a 3% chance of children being in poverty (absolute, before housing costs) where both parents worked full-time compared with 42% where one or more parents in a couple was in part-time work. As the economy recovers and through investing over £30 billion in our ambitious Plan for Jobs, our ambition is to help parents move into and progress in work as quickly as possible, substantially reducing the risks of poverty.