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 merits of extending eligibility for cost of living support schemes to include people with no recourse to public funds.

The Government has provided a wide range of measures to support with the cost of living in 22/23, including the Energy Bill Support Scheme and the Energy Price Guarantee which are available to all households with a domestic electricity bill. To ensure stability and certainty for households we are providing further cost of living support in 2023/24, including maintaining the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 for a further three months, from April 2023.

There is a general expectation that people wishing to come to the UK can maintain themselves and their families until they are settled here. Those granted immigration leave with a No Recourse to Public Funds condition are not therefore eligible for means-tested benefits or the Cost of Living Payment. However, we are increasing the National Living Wage (NLW) by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over, from 1 April 2023 for those individuals who have a right to work.

Local Authorities can provide a basic safety net support to an individual, regardless of their immigration status, if there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example if:

• there are community care needs
• they have serious health problems
• there is a risk to a child’s wellbeing

Local Authorities must use their judgement to decide what legal powers and funding can be used to support individuals who are ineligible for public funds or statutory housing assistance.