Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to review the 65p Housing Benefit taper rate; and if will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing that rate in line with the Universal Credit taper rate in incentivising young people into work.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
There are no plans to bring the Housing Benefit taper in line with that of Universal Credit. The two benefits have different treatment of earnings rules, both include tapers that ensure that all claimants are better off working than wholly reliant on benefits.
At present, there is a broad spectrum of claimants receiving their rent support through Housing Benefit; those resident in supported housing or temporary accommodations as well as those claimants who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper rate would apply to all of these groups and could result in Housing Benefit outstripping the provision provided by Universal Credit in some circumstances.
The Department acknowledges the challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those working and living in supported housing and temporary accommodation. This issue is a complex one, and eradicating the financial cliff edge some individuals face as they incrementally increase their earnings could not be achieved by simply aligning the taper rates within the two benefits. Officials are working to explore this issue further considering the impact including impact on different groups and consider policy options.
It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of regulations on pensions funds maladministration.
Answered by Laura Trott - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The Pensions Ombudsman and their Deputy have legal powers to consider complaints of maladministration and disputes of a fact or law concerning personal and occupational pension schemes. Decisions made by the Ombudsman and their Deputy are legally binding and are covered in the Pension Schemes Act 1993, Part X.
The power to decide these matters rests with the Pensions Ombudsman and their Deputy who are appointed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Only an Ombudsman can make a final and binding decisions on a case. However, they can delegate any other responsibilities to other people in their organisation.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of his Department's recent policy change in paying Universal Credit's Housing Element directly to claimants rather than to landlords and housing providers on the timeliness of rent payments.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
No assessment has been made.
Universal Credit is designed to mirror the world of work in order to ease the transition back into employment. The intention is that the same considerations and choices faced by people not in receipt of benefits should also face those claiming benefits. Expecting claimants to manage their own finances helps to achieve this.
The Department understands that some claimants will require support to help them handle monthly payments and has put in place procedures to address this.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when support for mortgage interest will be implemented; and what that figure will be.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
An increase to the rate paid through the SMI scheme was triggered on Wednesday 29th March 2023. The rate will increase from 2.09% to 2.65% and will be implemented no later than 10th May 2023.
The rate of SMI payments only changes when the Bank of England’s average mortgage rate differs by 0.5 percentage points or more from the standard interest rate.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the report by the Local Government Association entitled Work local: unlocking talent to level up, published on 10 May 2022, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of proposals for an integrated and devolved employment and skills service; and if she will make it her policy to implement the Work Local model in full.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is supportive of better integration of employment and skills services. The Levelling Up White Paper (LUWP), published on 2 February 2022, established three Employment and Skills Pathfinders: in Blackpool, Walsall and Barking and Dagenham. The UK Government will bring greater alignment to the delivery of employment and skills interventions in these areas. This is a joint project between DWP and the Department for Education (DfE), the Department responsible for further education policy, apprenticeships and wider skills and funding in England. The Pathfinders are bringing together local delivery partners to share understanding of local employers’ skills needs, support people into work, and identify progression opportunities for people in part-time work.
The LUWP also established an ‘English Devolution Framework.’ It takes a tiered approach to devolution and enables DWP to offer local government, a single institution or County Council with a directly elected Mayor, a role in the design and delivery of future contracted employment programmes. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is leading devolution deal negotiations with those areas identified in the LUWP.
DWP works closely with local government to understand local labour market issues and reflect these in our employment support and is committed to working with the LGA to strengthening our engagement, alongside other local government organisations.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of disabled people who have less than £10 per week to spend on food and other essentials after paying for housing, tax and other bills across the UK; and what steps her Department is taking to support disabled people in response to the increase in the cost of living.
Answered by David Rutley
No such assessment has been made. The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living. In 2022/23 we will spend over £64bn on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions in Great Britain and spending on the main disability benefits – PIP, DLA and Attendance Allowance – will be over £6bn higher in real terms than in 2010.
We know that living with a long-term illness or disability can impact on living costs and financial support is available to those, or those who care for them. People who have a health condition or disability which restricts the amount of work they can do could receive over £350 a month on top of the Universal Credit standard allowance.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether there will be any redundancies following the closure of the offices in her Department's estate from which staff will not be relocated to an alternative premise.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department’s priority will be to retain, retrain, and redeploy staff either within DWP, or within other Government Departments in the area.
Redundancies will be only considered as a very last resort, and only after all efforts to redeploy within DWP or other Government Departments in the area have been fully exhausted.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will increase (a) personal independence payment (b) disability living allowance and (c) universal credit in line with inflation.
Answered by Chloe Smith
The Secretary of State is legally required to conduct an annual review of benefit rates to determine whether they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices. We have used the same approach since April 1987 of up-rating benefits based on the relevant inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September and since 2011 the preferred index has been the Consumer Price index. We will spend over £64 billion this year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions.
Personal Independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance are non means–tested andnon-contributory, thus they are paid regardless of any income or savings and were not subject to the benefits freeze. They are currently paid at between £24.45 and £156.90 a week, tax free.
In Universal Credit the limited capability for work and work-related activity amount is currently £354.28 a month.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Independent - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Household Support Fund, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there is (a) maximum flexibility and (b) timely sharing of details on allocations to assist local authorities in making sure funding reaches people in need of support.
Answered by David Rutley
Indicative allocations for the Household Support Fund extension have been shared with Local Authorities. These indicative allocations are the same amount as for the previous 6 months of the Household Support Fund.
Local Authorities will have discretion on exactly how this funding is used within the scope set out in the fund guidance and the accompanying grant determination.