Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2023 to Question 3974, whether Ofgem takes into account trends in the level of fuel poverty in areas off the gas grid in determining Typical Domestic Consumption Values.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Typical Domestic Consumption Values (TDVCs) are the average actual measured consumption by consumers across Great Britain. TDVCs are calculated on the basis of meter level data, not trends in fuel poverty in areas off the gas grid. The revised values were subject to public consultation, which may be found at www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/call-input-review-typical-domestic-consumption-values-2023
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of how many and what proportion of children were living in poverty in 2010 based on his Department's households below average income data.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The latest available National statistics on child poverty covering 2021/22 are available here.
This Government has overseen significant falls in absolute poverty since 2009/10. Both rates and numbers of children in absolute poverty (60% of 2010/11 median income, both before and after housing costs) were lower in 2021/22 than in 2009/10.
In 2009/10, 28% (3.7m) children were living in absolute poverty after housing costs.
In 2021/22, 23% (3.3m) children were living in absolute poverty after housing costs.
This means that, in 2021/22, there were 400,000 fewer children in absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10, a decrease of 5 percentage points.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate her Department has made of the proportion of households in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England that spent more than 10% of their income on energy costs in each of the last three years.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest official Fuel Poverty Statistics for England were published in February 2023 on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics#2022-Statistics
In addition to reporting against the official fuel poverty metric for England, these statistics included an affordability measure of the number of households required to spend more than 10 per cent of their income on domestic energy. These can be found in Annex D: Affordability measures for England, of the annual report.
Affordability measure estimates are not held at sub-national level. Figures are available at sub-national level for fuel poverty under the Low-income Low energy efficiency (LILEE) metric, on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2023-2021-data
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) people and (b) households in Warwick and Leamington constituency living in fuel poverty in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013, (iii) 2018 and (iv) 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest statistics for the number of households in fuel poverty in parliamentary constituencies in England, can be found in the published sub-regional fuel poverty Official Statistics, in Table 4: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics
The estimates covering 2019 to 2021 are published using the current fuel poverty metric and 2010 to 2018 using the previous metric. Information on the number of people in fuel poverty is not held at local area level.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the rise in demand for food banks, what steps they are taking to support families experiencing food poverty.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government recognises that understanding food security is important and this is why we added internationally used food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 2019/20 and added further questions on foodbank use in 2021/22. These statistics help our understanding of the characteristics of people most in need and, alongside the broad suite of poverty data, help to shape future policy considerations.
We are committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children.
From April 2023, we uprated benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1% and, subject to Parliamentary approval, working-age benefits will rise by 6.7% from April 2024, in line with inflation.
With almost one million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting people, including parents, to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. The latest statistics show that in 2021/22 children living in workless households were 5 times more likely to be in absolute poverty, after housing costs, than those where all adults work.
To help people into work, our core Jobcentre offer provides a range of options, including face-to-face time with work coaches and interview assistance. In addition, there is specific support targeted towards young people, people aged 50 plus and job seekers with disabilities or health issues.
To help people progress in work, our voluntary in-work progression offer, rolled-out from April 2022, is now available in all Jobcentres across Great Britain. We estimate that around 1.2m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work.
To support parents into work, on 28 June 2023, the maximum monthly amounts that a parent can be reimbursed for their childcare increased by 47%, from £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children to £950.92 and £1,630.15 respectively. Importantly, we can now also provide even more help with upfront childcare costs when parents move into work or increase their hours.
We are also committed to ending low hourly pay for those on the National Living Wage (NLW) in the UK. From 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over. Further to this, on 1 April 2024, we will increase the National Living Wage for workers aged 21 years and over by 9.8% to £11.44 representing an increase of over £1,800 to the gross annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW.
This Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of £104bn over 2022-2025 to help households and individuals. Included within this, to support low-income households with increasing rent costs, the government will raise Local Housing Allowance rates to the 30th percentile of local market rents in April 2024. This will benefit 1.6 million low-income households, who will be around £800 a year better off on average in 2024-25.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Warwick and Leamington constituency used a foodbank in October (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government takes the issue of food security very seriously and is committed to understanding and addressing food poverty which is why we have published official estimates of foodbank use for the first time in March 2023. The latest available National statistics on both food security and food bank use covering 2021/22 are available here. Statistics are not available at the constituency level.
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and HM Government does not have any role in their operation. As such, data on trends in the distribution of food parcels in the Warwick and Leamington constituency is not available.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an estimate of the number of people in work in Warwick and Leamington constituency who use a foodbank once a month or more.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government takes the issue of food security very seriously and is committed to understanding and addressing food poverty which is why we have published official estimates of foodbank use for the first time in March 2023. The latest available National statistics on both food security and food bank use covering 2021/22 are available here. Statistics are not available at the constituency level.
Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and HM Government does not have any role in their operation. As such, data on trends in the distribution of food parcels in the Warwick and Leamington constituency is not available.
Asked by: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party - Belfast South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the number and proportion of households experiencing fuel poverty in Northern Ireland on 27 November 2023.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
DESNZ has responsibility for the measurement of fuel poverty in England. The latest
estimates of fuel poverty in England are available
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics
Fuel poverty is a devolved matter and different metrics of fuel poverty are used in the Devolved Administrations. The latest fuel poverty estimates for Northern Ireland, published by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive are available here: Estimates of fuel poverty in Northern Ireland in 2020 and 2021 (nihe.gov.uk)
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the proportion of households that spent more than 10% of their income on energy costs in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The latest official Fuel Poverty Statistics for England were published in February 2023 which can be found on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics#2022-
In addition to reporting against the official fuel poverty metric for England, these statistics also included an affordability measure of the number of households who are required to spend more than 10 per cent of their income on domestic energy. These can be found in Annex D: Affordability measures for England, of the annual report.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much Official Development Assistance has been allocated to projects related to (a) poverty reduction and (b) ending violence against women and girls in each of the last four years.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
(a) It is not possible to identify all UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocated to projects related to poverty reduction from information FCDO holds. Expenditure on development assistance (as defined in the International Development Act 2002) requires Ministers to be satisfied that the assistance is likely to contribute to a reduction in poverty. There is no express requirement for consideration of a reduction in poverty for expenditure on humanitarian assistance, though in many cases humanitarian assistance may also contribute to poverty reduction.
Table 1 sets out total FCDO ODA spend and the amount spent on humanitarian assistance from 2019 - 2022. This is likely to be an underestimate of all UK ODA allocated to projects related to poverty reduction as it doesn't include any relevant ODA spend by other government departments.
Table 1: Estimated FCDO ODA spent on poverty reduction (£thousand) | ||||
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
Total FCDO ODA | 11,785,190 | 10,663,010 | 8,174,885 | 7,634,908 |
of which: ODA to humanitarian sector | 1,526,136 | 1,523,982 | 737,272 | 1,086,403 |
Source: Statistics on International Development |
(b)
Ending violence against women and girls overseas remains a top priority for the Government. Table 2 shows UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend on tackling violence against women and girls. This is likely to be an underestimate as some humanitarian and other sectoral programmes also work to prevent and respond to violence but are not captured in these figures.
Table 2: UK ODA to Sector Code 15180: Ending violence against women and girls, 2019 - 2022 (£ thousands)
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
UK bilateral ODA to sector code 15180 | 47,096 | 35,556 | 27,572 | 75,106 |
Imputed UK share of multilateral Net ODA to sector code 15180 | 21,829 | 19,215 | 24,647 | Data not yet available |