Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to respond to the report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Destitution in the UK 2018 published in June revealing that there are 1.5 million people living in destitution in the UK.

The Joseph Rowntree Trust’s report refers to people who were destitute “at some point” during 2017 not to the number of people living in destitution.

This Government will continue with its ambitious reforms to the welfare system so that it encourages people to move into and progress in work, and move towards financial independence. Compared with 2010, there are now around 880,000 fewer adults in workless households and 1 million fewer people in absolute poverty (on a before housing costing costs basis). Of those in the poorest fifth of the population in 2010/11, just over half had moved further up the income distribution 5 years later.

The Government is also continuing to help those who face the greatest employment barriers and who are most at-risk of being in severe and long-term low income, for example, through individualised, tailored support from Jobcentre Work Coaches. For people with health conditions or a disability, this support can include early access to the new Work and Health Programme and Specialist Employability Support. As a safeguard for people in urgent need, a well-established system of hardship payments, benefit advances and budgeting loans is in place.

We are also considering how we can develop and make greater use of the existing suite of official measures of poverty so that they better identify and track progress on helping those who are most in need of additional support.