Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 impact of the level of statutory maternity pay on the ability of couples to afford to start a family.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is intended to provide a measure of financial security to allow women in the later stages of pregnancy, and shortly after birth, to take time away from work to protect their health and safety and that of their baby. It is not intended to assist with the costs associated with the birth of a new child or to replace a woman's earnings completely.
The rate of SMP is reviewed annually. Generally, it is increased in line with the Consumer Prices Index. Any decision to amend the rate of SMP would need to be made with consideration to the impact on employers and in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 adequacy of the level of statutory maternity pay.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is intended to provide a measure of financial security to allow women in the later stages of pregnancy, and shortly after birth, to take time away from work to protect their health and safety and that of their baby. It is not intended to assist with the costs associated with the birth of a new child or to replace a woman's earnings completely.
The rate of SMP is reviewed annually. Generally, it is increased in line with the Consumer Prices Index. Any decision to amend the rate of SMP would need to be made with consideration to the impact on employers and in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has plans to introduce a non-repayable crisis grant for people in financial need who are not eligible for universal credit.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
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. In exceptional cases of genuine emergency where existing housing support schemes do not meet this exceptional need, the Household Support Fund can also be used to support housing costs.
The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.
The Household Support Fund in England has been allocated to Upper Tier Local Authorities. They have the flexibility to deliver their own schemes through a variety of routes, which may include offering vouchers to households, directly providing food or goods, or issuing grants to third parties to provide such services on their behalf.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit on the number of people in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty in County Durham.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No such assessments have been made of the effect of ending the £20 uplift on the numbers of people living in poverty in County Durham or Barnsley East.
It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the impact of removing the £20 uplift on poverty. This is due to the uncertainty around the speed and distribution of the economic recovery, and the resulting effect on the caseload.
The latest poverty figures (2019/20) demonstrate that absolute poverty rates (both before and after housing costs) have fallen since 2009/10. In 2019/20, 14% of people were in absolute poverty (before housing costs), compared to 16% in 2009/10.
There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty.
This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, and continues to do so through many measures, including by increasing the living wage, and by spending over £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22.
We recognise that some people continue to require extra support, which is why we have introduced a £421 million Household Support Fund to help vulnerable people in England with essential household costs over the winter as the economy recovers. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving around £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment she has made of the potential effect of the removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit on (a) disabled people and their families and (b) people who are not living with a disability.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No such assessment has been made of the potential effect of the removal of the £20 uplift to universal credit on disabled people and their families or people who are not living with a disability.
The Chancellor announced a temporary six-month extension to the £20 per week uplift at the Budget on 3 March to support households affected by the economic shock of Covid-19. Universal Credit has provided a vital safety net for six million people during the pandemic, and the temporary uplift was part of a COVID support package worth a total of £407 billion in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
There have been significant positive developments in the public health situation since the uplift was first introduced. With the success of the vaccine rollout and record job vacancies, it is right that our focus is on helping people back into work.
Through our Plan for Jobs, we are targeting tailored support schemes of people of all ages to help them prepare for, get into and progress in work. These include: Kickstart, delivering tens of thousands of six-month work placements for Universal Credit claimants aged 16-24 at risk of unemployment; we have also recruited an additional 13,500 work coaches to provide more intensive support to find a job; and introduced Restart which provides 12 months’ intensive employment support to Universal Credit claimants who are unemployed for a year. Our Plan for Jobs interventions will support more than two million people and we are also keen to see disabled people progress in work, with support from existing programmes such as Work and Health Programme and Intensive Employment Support Programme. Over the last 8 years the number of disabled people in employment has increased by 1.5m.
We have seen strong growth in the number and rate of disabled people in employment and Universal Credit claimants with health conditions or disabilities who, following the outcome of a work capability assessment, are determined to have limited capability for work and work related activity – meaning they are not required to look for work or to prepare for work – are awarded an additional amount of benefit, currently £343.63 per month.
We recognise that some people continue to require extra support, which is why we have introduced a £421 million Household Support Fund to help vulnerable people in England with essential household costs over the winter as the economy recovers. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving around £80 million (£41m for the Scottish Government, £25m for the Welsh Government and £14m for the NI Executive), for a total of £500 million.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
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 equity of her policy on two persons who qualify for the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity element of Universal Credit make a joint claim, one of them loses the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity element; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is right that where there has been a change in circumstances, such as a couple forming, benefit entitlement is reassessed to reflect the altered financial status of the household. In Universal Credit, while both members of a couple may be assessed as having limited capability for work and work-related activity, only one limited capability for work and work-related activity element can be awarded. In income-related ESA, whilst a couple’s rate of personal allowance can be paid, only the claimant is assessed and if found to have limited capability for work and work-related activity, awarded the equivalent Support Group component. There is no couple rate of the Support Group component.
The limited capability for work and work-related activity element is designed to reflect the extra costs of longer durations on benefit. Income from benefits such as Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance, which are provided to meet additional costs relating to disability for individuals rather than households, is not taken into account.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are in receipt of payment of (a) the carer element of universal credit, (b) carer addition and (c) the carer premium as at 10 December 2020.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The available information on the number of households with a carer entitlement on Universal Credit, currently for August 2020, is published and can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/
Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:
https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html
The latest available statistics on the number of Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Housing Benefit claimants in receipt of the carer premium, and the number of Pension Credit claimants in receipt of the carer addition are shown in the following table.
Number of Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support and Housing Benefit claimants in receipt of the carer premium and the number of Pension Credit claimants in receipt of the carer addition, Great Britain, Feb 20, May 20 and Aug 20
Benefit | Latest Quarter available | Number of recipients |
Jobseeker's Allowance | Feb-20 | 1,600 |
Income Support | May-20 | 200,000 |
Pension Credit | May-20 | 134,800 |
Housing Benefit | Aug-20 | 152,080 |
Source: DWP Quarterly Statistical Enquiry 5% data and 100% Work, Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) and DWP Single Housing Benefit Extract
Notes
The information requested is not readily available for Employment and Support Allowance claimants and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing carers who are in receipt of carer’s allowance with additional financial support to help them meet the increased costs of caring resulting from the covid-19 outbreak, in (a) City of Durham constituency and (b) England.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises and appreciates the vital role played by unpaid carers now more than ever. In November 2019 there were more than 1,300 carers in the City of Durham constituency that were receiving Carer’s Allowance (CA) and in 2018/19 we spent approximately £4.6 million on CA there.
We have focussed on ensuring carers do not inadvertently stop receiving CA because of changes to patterns of care during the current emergency. This includes allowing emotional support to count towards the 35 hours of care being provided by the carer as well as relaxing the rules around breaks in care. These changes aim to support carers whose role has, in many cases, become harder due to the need to self-isolate or shield the person they care for.
The rate of CA was also increased in early April as part of the annual uprating process. Since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £67.25 a week, meaning nearly an additional £700 a year for carers. We continue to support those carers in most need through additional amounts (premiums) in means-tested benefits and have also announced increases to the standard allowance in Universal Credit. Meaning claimants will be up to £1040 a year better off, which some carers receiving Universal Credit will benefit from.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Government Equalities Office is taking steps to ensure that duties under the Equality Act 2010 in relation to the provision of accessible information for people who (a) deaf and (b) have hearing loss are maintained during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring deaf people and people who have hearing loss can fully participate and play a full role in society. We support initiatives aimed at improving understanding of the needs of deaf people and people who have hearing loss and how the barriers they face can be removed, as well as giving them more say in how they access services.
We worked with the BBC to introduce a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter on Monday 16 March to accompany the Prime Minister’s daily coronavirus press conference. The BSL interpreter is available on the BBC News Channel and BBC iPlayer. We continue to work with the BBC to ensure there is a BSL interpreter in our daily updates on coronavirus and are prioritising the exploration of additional methods to ensure that all disabled people have access to pertinent communication in accessible formats.