Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Prime Minister’s oral contribution at Prime Minister's Questions on 10 January 2024, Official Report, column 297, on what evidential basis he said that the number of people living in poverty has reduced by 1.7 million since 2010.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The latest available National statistics on Households Below Average Income covering 2021/22 are here.
These statistics show that there were 1.7 million fewer people in absolute low income after housing costs in 2021/22 compared to 2009/10, a 4 percentage-point decrease. This includes 400,000 children, 1 million working age individuals and 200,000 pensioners.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Cost of Living Payment for disabled people not on means-tested benefits and who have higher energy usage.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
I refer the Hon and Rt Hon Members to the answer I gave on 13 December 2022 to Question UIN 106507.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
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 the potential merits of providing part of a Cost of Living Payment to people on means-tested benefits during winter 2022-23.
Answered by Mims Davies - Shadow Minister (Women)
No such assessment has been made. We will be bringing forward legislation for the 23/24 Cost of Living Payments in due course.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps the Health and Safety Executive has taken to help reduce the fatality rate in agriculture.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The fatality rate in agriculture is a concern to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has a long-term strategy to drive industry ownership of the challenge and influence behaviour.
Since 2018, HSE has run an annual programme of delivering training to farmers in advance of targeted proactive inspection. This sits alongside specific interventions on the management of cattle and, during 2022/23, the management of electrocution risk from overhead power lines.
HSE continues engagement activity with a full range of stakeholders through the Farm Safety Partnerships. The latest activity includes work on child safety, management of cattle in fields with public rights of way, farm transport and the safe use of quad bikes. HSE also regularly holds formal consultations with the industry about its initiatives through the Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee.
HSE publishes an annual report detailing the main causes of fatal incidents in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain. The report covering the period of 2021/22 is available via HSE’s website.
The table below shows the number of agricultural inspections* conducted by HSE in each of the last five annual reporting periods (figures available from HSE systems as yearly figures):
Year** | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 (inspections ongoing) |
Number of inspections | 572 | 772 | 706 | 229 | 398 | 179 |
*Figures have been provided for agriculture inspections. The number may include a small number of non-farm premises.
**HSE systems able to generate figures for each calendar year e.g., 2018 rather than work year e.g., 2017/18.
Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many inspections were conducted by the Health and Safety Executive on farms in each of the past five annual reporting periods.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The fatality rate in agriculture is a concern to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which has a long-term strategy to drive industry ownership of the challenge and influence behaviour.
Since 2018, HSE has run an annual programme of delivering training to farmers in advance of targeted proactive inspection. This sits alongside specific interventions on the management of cattle and, during 2022/23, the management of electrocution risk from overhead power lines.
HSE continues engagement activity with a full range of stakeholders through the Farm Safety Partnerships. The latest activity includes work on child safety, management of cattle in fields with public rights of way, farm transport and the safe use of quad bikes. HSE also regularly holds formal consultations with the industry about its initiatives through the Agriculture Industry Advisory Committee.
HSE publishes an annual report detailing the main causes of fatal incidents in agriculture, forestry and fishing in Great Britain. The report covering the period of 2021/22 is available via HSE’s website.
The table below shows the number of agricultural inspections* conducted by HSE in each of the last five annual reporting periods (figures available from HSE systems as yearly figures):
Year** | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 (inspections ongoing) |
Number of inspections | 572 | 772 | 706 | 229 | 398 | 179 |
*Figures have been provided for agriculture inspections. The number may include a small number of non-farm premises.
**HSE systems able to generate figures for each calendar year e.g., 2018 rather than work year e.g., 2017/18.