Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has considered extending eligibility for (a) Child Benefit and (b) the child element of Universal Credit to families of 16 to19 year-olds undertaking apprenticeships, in order to remove financial disincentives to vocational training.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
When a young person becomes an apprentice, they are in work and no longer regarded as a child or qualifying young person for Child Benefit or Universal Credit child element purposes, even though they might still live with their parents or guardians.
Education or training provided by means of a contract of employment (which includes apprenticeships) does not count as education or training for the purposes of satisfying the definition of a qualifying young person. The parent or guardian will no longer be entitled to Child Benefit or Universal Credit child element for the young person in these circumstances.
In the case of waged apprentices under the age of 19, employers are required to pay a minimum wage of £7.55 an hour, and many tend to pay more as young people develop their skills. A young person working 35 hours a week on a waged apprenticeship should therefore earn no less than £264.25 each week.
Depending on age and the number of hours undertaken on the apprenticeship, the young person may be able to claim Universal Credit in their own right.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her department has made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to Personal Independence Payment on people with Parkinson's disease.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
Impacts of the proposed changes depend on many factors including how the mix of conditions among claimants evolves over time, and behavioural responses. These impacts are uncertain at an overall England and Wales level, and it would not be possible to make an informed assessment at such a granular level as individual primary medical conditions.
There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from November 2026, subject to parliamentary approval.
PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years.
We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis, but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.
We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to reduce the proportion of children in relative poverty in Stockport constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government. The Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy looking at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Government
The Taskforce is listening to experts and campaigners and ensuring the voices of families and children with experience of poverty are brought into policy thinking and decision making as part of the development of the Child Poverty Strategy. This includes three key stands of work – a Parents and Carers Forum, engagement with the Changing Realities Project and research with children and young people.
The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introduce a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, improve the adequacy of the standard allowance with the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April to boost the pay of three million workers.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the impact of existing social security policies on children in poverty in (a) Stockport and (b) Greater Manchester.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change.
The Strategy will look at all available levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, including considering social security reforms, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across Government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
The numbers of children living in low income families before housing costs by local areas are published annually in the Children in Low Income Families Publication, available here: Children in low income families: local area statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
In 2022/23, 9,973 children aged under 16 (17.6% of all children aged under 16) were in relative poverty before housing costs (BHC) in Stockport.
In 2022/23, 179,814 children aged under 16 (30.4% of all children aged under 16) were in relative poverty before housing costs (BHC) in Greater Manchester.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of national economic policies on addressing the root causes of child poverty.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change. The causes of child poverty are deep-rooted and complex, and the Taskforce is exploring all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty.
The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2024 to Question 21862 on Cost of Living Payments: Disability, what estimate he has made of the average financial impact per claimant of the discontinuation of Disability Cost of Living Payments.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
No estimate has been made about the discontinuation of Disability Cost of Living Payments.
As of April 2024, the rate of inflation has slowed, and the Government has also implemented uprating to benefits to reflect increased costs. We also increased extra costs disability benefits by 10.1 per cent from April 2023 and by 6.7% from April 2024 in line with the Consumer Price Index.
For 2023/24 we estimate that nearly 60 per cent of individuals who received an extra costs disability benefit would have received the means-tested benefit Cost of Living Payments, worth up to £900. Over 85 per cent would have received either or both of the means-tested and the £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.
An evaluation of the Cost of Living Payments is underway. This will seek to understand their effectiveness as a means of support for low-income and vulnerable household.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
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 impact of the ending Disability Cost of Living Payments on people with disabilities.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Government has no plans to extend the Disability Cost of Living Payments past the 2023/24 round. Cost of Living Payments enabled us to target further support quickly during the rising cost of living pressures.
As of March 2024, the rate of inflation has slowed, and the Government has also implemented uprating to other benefits to reflect increased costs.
An evaluation of the Cost of Living Payments is underway. This will seek to understand their effectiveness as a means of support for low-income and vulnerable households.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an estimate of the number of people with disabilities in the UK that (a) stopped receiving a mobility allowance and (b) lost access to the Motability Scheme as a result of reaching state pension age in 2023.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Claimants in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) before reaching state pension age, are still entitled to their award after reaching state pension age.
No claimant over state pension age will lose their mobility component or access to the Motability scheme providing they continue to meet the qualifying conditions of the benefit.
During 2022-23, an average of 226,000 PIP claimants of pension age received the enhanced mobility award in England & Wales. Any claimant in receipt of enhanced rate mobility can choose to exchange this for a lease on a Motability car, powered wheelchair or scooter.
We do not hold data on how many PIP claimants over state pension age choose to use the Motability scheme.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of adjusting the National Insurance (NI)/State Pension scheme rules so that any NI payments made before State Pension age are taken into account so that they can contribute to gaining a Full NI Qualifying Year.
Answered by Paul Maynard
No such assessment has been made.
A person's working life is the period from the beginning of the tax year (6 April) in which they are aged 16, to the end of the tax year (5 April) before the one in which they reach State Pension age (known as the Final Relevant Year).
National Insurance contributions made during an individual’s Final Relevant Year count towards their National Insurance record however, contributions made in the tax year someone reaches State Pension age do not. This is because the administration of National Insurance records is carried out in line with tax years – from 6 April one year to 5 April the next year.
Over a working life, most people will build enough Qualifying Years to maximise their state pension.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the letter of 4 August, 2023 from the hon. Member for Stockport on behalf of a constituent, reference NM21431, on his Department’s criteria for the calculation of carers’ allowance.
Answered by Paul Maynard
DWP provided a telephone and email response to the office of Navendu Mishra MP on 23 August 2023 in relation to his constituent’s enquiry, and a copy has also been issued today by email.