Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support universal credit claimants in (a) Coventry North East constituency and (b) Coventry during the covid-19 outbreak.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Government’s priority has been to protect lives and people’s livelihoods, including by:

• Extending the temporary £20 a week increase in Universal Credit originally introduced for 12 months, for a further six months, taking it well beyond the end of national lockdown.
• Spending almost £30 billion to support renters with their housing costs in 2020/21. This includes a boost of almost £1 billion to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) in response to Covid-19, which provided 1.5 million households in the private rented sector with around £600 more in housing support over the year. In 2021/22 all LHA rates will be maintained at their increased level, meaning claimants will continue to benefit from the significant increase in rates.
• Suspending the Minimum Income Floor in Universal Credit until 31^st July, meaning self-employed Universal Credit claimants can access support on more generous terms.

The Jobcentre team in Coventry have delivered Mentoring Circles and Sector- based Work Academy Programmes in partnership with local employers, as well as a Youth Hub based at the Coventry Jobshop and additional support for young people with complex needs through our Youth Employability Coaches.

The £229.1m Covid Winter Grant Scheme was part of Government’s Covid response to provide Local Authorities in England, including Coventry Local Authority, with funding to support vulnerable households with the costs of food and other essentials. Recognising that some restrictions on the economy continue, we are extending the scheme – renamed the COVID Local Support Grant - until the 20^th June 2021.