Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Stepney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
What assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of ending the universal credit uplift on levels of in-work relative poverty.
Answered by David Rutley
The uplift to Universal Credit was a temporary measure, that is why an assessment has not been completed on its withdrawal.
This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, and continues to do so through many measures. We expect to spend over £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22.
Universal Credit recipients in work will soon benefit from a reduction in the Universal Credit taper rate from 63% to 55%, and increasing the work allowance by £500 per year means that 1.9m working households will be able to keep substantially more of what they earn. These changes represent an effective tax cut for low income working households in receipt of UC worth £2.2 billion a year in 2022-23, for the lowest paid in society, and are combined with a rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 per hour.
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. 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.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Stepney)
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 on poverty levels of reintroducing universal credit sanctions and conditionality in the next six months.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
New and updated claimant commitments for Universal Credit claimants have been reintroduced from 1 July 2020 in a phased approach and as capacity allows. Only once a new or updated claimant commitment has been agreed, can claimants receive a sanction if they fail to meet those commitments without good reason.
Work Coaches are empowered to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that conditionality is tailored to a claimant’s individual circumstances, that only realistic and reasonable requirements are set, and that they can apply easements and take additional steps to help protect the most vulnerable.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Stepney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations she has received from food bank providers on levels of demand for emergency food assistance in the last six months.
Answered by Will Quince
The Department engaged with food bank providers throughout the Covid pandemic and will continue to do so.
The Department quickly introduced welfare changes worth over £9 billion and worked closely with other departments on the cross-government Task Force on Food and Other Essential Supplies for Vulnerable People, led by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Asked by: Rushanara Ali (Labour - Bethnal Green and Stepney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her plans are for the future of face-to-face assessments for welfare payments.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
The health and safety of our claimants and staff is our key priority. We suspended all face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits in March. This temporary suspension, brought in to protect people from unnecessary risk of coronavirus at the outset of the pandemic, remains in place, and is being kept under review in line with the latest public health guidance.
We continue to do telephone-based assessments, and as usual also undertake paper-based assessments where possible. Any re-introduction of face-to-face assessments would involve additional Covid-related safety measures, and guidance for claimants and assessment providers to ensure compliance with the relevant public health guidance.