Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to provide a multi-year funding settlement for the Household Support Fund.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
£500 million is being provided to enable the current Household Support Fund, including funding for Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion. This means Local Authorities in England are receiving £421 million to support those in need locally.
The current Household Support Fund will be in place until 30 September 2024.
As a new government, we are reviewing all policies, including the Household Support Fund.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the (a) Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) Local Government Association on future funding for the Household Support Fund.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government has announced funding to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.
An additional £500 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF, including funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.
As with previous HSF schemes, the Fund will be made available to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to provide discretionary support to those most in need.
The HSF scheme guidance and individual Local Authority funding allocations for the forthcoming extension will be announced as soon as possible ahead of the scheme beginning on 1 October 2024.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 potential impact of limiting winter fuel allowance on pensioners that are (a) eligible for but not claiming pension credit and (b) just above the eligibility threshold for pension credit.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.
Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.
The department continues to maximise opportunities to promote Pension Credit and to raise awareness of its wider benefits and to encourage pensioners to apply. The department uses a range of creative media including TV, press, radio and social media to boost awareness of the benefit. We engage with stakeholders, including other Government Departments, Councils, and charities, to harness their help and support to raise awareness through their networks and channels.
The Government is ensuring pensioners are supported through our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, over 12 million pensioners will benefit, with many expected to see their State Pension increase by around a thousand pounds over the next five years.
Additionally, the Government will invest an extra £6.6 billion over this Parliament in clean heat and energy efficiency through the Warm Homes Plan, upgrading five million homes through solutions like low carbon heating and improved insulation to reduce emissions and cut bills.
Finally, the Household Support Fund is being extended for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £500 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF, including funding for the Devolved Administrations through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 the removal of Winter Fuel Payments on pensioners in receipt of attendance allowance.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.
Pensioners on low incomes and in receipt of Attendance Allowance can qualify for an additional amount in Pension Credit, providing they meet the other eligibility criteria.
In making a decision on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the government had regard to the equality analysis in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department prepared an impact assessment on its decision not to extend the Household Support Fund.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 impact of discontinuing the Household Support Fund on Liverpool City Council.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 impact of discontinuing the Household Support Fund on local government finances.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The current Household Support Fund runs from April 2023 until the end of March 2024, and the Government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 effect the freeze on Local Housing Allowance on claimants during rising private sector rents.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates are not intended to meet all rents in all areas. For Great Britain in May 2022, 55% of the households on LHA had rents higher than the LHA rates. For these households the average gap was £146 per month.
In April 2020 LHA rates were increased to the 30th percentile of local rents. This investment of nearly £1 billion provided 1.5 million claimants with an average £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received.
LHA rates have been maintained at their increased levels since then, so that everyone who benefitted from the increase will continue to do so.
For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 we have provided almost £1.5 billion in DHPs. This is alongside the £421 million Household Support Fund which has been extended from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
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 potential impact of not increasing Local Housing Allowance in line with inflation on levels of (a) homelessness and (b) the number of Section 21 notices.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
No assessment has been made.
The causes of homelessness are multi-faceted and often complex, they interact dynamically making it difficult to isolate the relative importance of individual factors.
The Government is providing £316 million in Homelessness Prevention Grant funding to local authorities for 2022/23. This is part of £2 billion in funding which we have pledged to tackle homeless and rough sleeping over the next three years.
The Government has committed to a ban on section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions to protect tenants and will introduce a Renters Reform Bill in this Parliament.
In April 2020 investment in LHA rates was boosted by nearly £1 billion, providing 1.5 million claimants who rent in the private sector with an average £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received. Rates have been maintained at their increased 2020 levels since then so that claimants continue to benefit from the significant increase. LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas.
For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available. Since 2011 we have provided nearly £1.5 billion in funding for DHPs. This is alongside the £421 million Household Support Fund which has been extended from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what amount of Discretionary Housing Payments funding his Department had spent on (a) 10 November 2021 and (b) 10 November 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
The Government allocated £140m in Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) funding in 2021-22 and £100m in 2022-23 to Local Authorities in England and Wales. Local Authorities administer the DHP scheme as they are best placed to make informed judgements about relative priorities and needs in their area to ensure that the most vulnerable are supported and the funds are targeted effectively.
Local Authorities mandatorily submit DHP expenditure information at mid-year, which covers expenditure over the first 6 months of the financial year (1st April to 30th September), and end-of-year which covers spend for the whole of the financial year (1st April to 31st March). These returns are used to produce statistics on Discretionary Housing Payments which are published twice a year and can be accessed here.