Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has plans to extend the eligibility criteria for the Cost of Living payment to include people who are self-employed on low incomes and receive a nil Universal Credit award.

The Government recognises the importance of self-employment to the economy, and believes it is right that, once people are in work, they should become more financially independent and less reliant on benefits. The Minimum Income Floor encourages self-employed UC claimants to progress in work and increase their earnings through developing their business. It also limits state support for those who persistently declare very low self-employed earnings - a situation which is unsustainable and unfair on the taxpayer, and a poor outcome for claimants.

We have kept the eligibility rules for the Cost of Living Payments as simple as possible to deliver them promptly and accurately.

The cost of living payment for eligible means-tested benefit claimants will however be delivered in three separate payments over 2023/24. This reduces the chance of someone missing out altogether as those who do not qualify for one of the payments due to their changing circumstances, may qualify for another one of the payments.

For those who require additional support the Government is providing £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable a further extension to the Household Support Fund in England. In England, this will run from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, backed by £842m. Local Authorities use the Fund to help households with the cost of essentials, and they are expected to help households in the most need, particularly those who may not be eligible for the other support the government has recently made available. The guidance can be found here: 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024: Household Support Fund guidance for county councils and unitary authorities in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.