Pension Auto-enrolment David Johnston (Wantage) (Con) 1. How many
people have been auto-enrolled in workplace pensions in Wantage
constituency since 2012. (900273) Felicity Buchan (Kensington)
(Con) 14. How many people have been auto-enrolled in workplace
pensions in Kensington constituency since 2012. (900286) The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Guy
Opperman) Since 2012, in the Wantage constituency, 14,000 local men
and...Request free trial
Pension Auto-enrolment
(Wantage) (Con)
1. How many people have been auto-enrolled in workplace pensions
in Wantage constituency since 2012. (900273)
(Kensington) (Con)
14. How many people have been auto-enrolled in workplace pensions
in Kensington constituency since 2012. (900286)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
Since 2012, in the Wantage constituency, 14,000 local men and
women have been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension.
We thank the 2,410 local employers who are helping these
employees to save from 8% of their earnings.
Auto-enrolment has been one of the most successful Government
policies for the workplace in decades, but my hon. Friend will
know that contributions are often not yet at the levels needed
for people to have a secure retirement. What steps is he taking
to encourage an increase in contribution levels?
We keep all policies under review, and auto-enrolment got to 8%
only in 2019. We will proceed with the 2017 auto-enrolment review
by lowering the eligibility age and making it from the first £1
earned in due course. We will also look at all matters in terms
of contribution rates on a longer-term basis as time moves
on.
I understand that 36,000 people in Kensington have been signed up
through auto-enrolment, which is great news. What can my hon.
Friend do to ensure that even more people in Kensington are
signed up?
Where Kensington leads, the rest of the country follows. There is
no doubt that 36,000 is a phenomenal number of employees who are
saving the 8% through auto-enrolment. My hon. Friend will be
aware that, in her community and in this country, less than 40%
of women were saving in a workplace pension prior to 2012, and it
is now 86%. Less than 24% of young people were saving in a
workplace pension, and it is now 84%. This is a game-changing
policy developed under successive Governments but pioneered by
this Conservative Government.
Pensioners: Cost of Living
(Carshalton and Wallington)
(Con)
2. What steps she is taking to help support pensioners with the
cost of living. (900274)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
The Government have provided a generous package for those most in
need with a one-off cost of living payment of £650, including to
those in receipt of pension credit. In addition, all pensioner
households will receive an extra £300 to help cover the rising
cost of energy this winter.
I welcome the measures the Government have taken to support
pensioners with the rising cost of living. Many pensioners in
Carshalton and Wallington who are eligible for pension credit
still do not know that they are entitled to it, so they are not
claiming. Will my hon. Friend set out what steps the Government
are taking to increase the uptake of pension credit? Will he join
me at an older persons fair in my constituency later in the year
to promote it?
I will be delighted to join my hon. Friend at his older persons
fair, which is one example of how we want to promote the take-up
of pension credit. I was pleased today to meet a group of
stakeholders, ranging from Citizens Advice to Independent Age,
the BBC, ITV, local authorities and utility companies, all of
which are trying to work collectively to promote pension credit
take-up. As we know, pension credit is a £3,000-plus benefit to
the most venerable in our society, and it is particularly
important that they claim it this winter.
Mr Speaker
I call Sir , Chairman of the Select
Committee, whom I congratulate on his knighthood.
Sir (East Ham) (Lab)
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I welcome the efforts on pension
credit take-up. The Chancellor’s additional payments are very
welcome, but the need for them highlights the failings of the
current pensions and benefits uprating system. The Select
Committee will be looking at this, but does the Minister agree
that now is the time to review how we uprate pensions and
benefits each year and the level at which they are set?
You got there first, Mr Speaker, but I also congratulate the
former Pensions Minister, the Chair of the Select Committee, on
his knighthood, which is genuinely deserved. The whole House
wishes him well when he goes to meet the Queen for his
investiture.
The right hon. Gentleman is a former Pensions Minister and will
recall that the present uprating policy started in April 1987 and
has continued under successive Governments, including the 13
years of Labour Government. I will, of course, come to the Select
Committee to listen to its suggestions, but the same process has
been in place for the best part of 35 years. The level is set
between September and November, and the uprating takes place
thereafter.
(North West Durham)
(Con)
Pension credit is important, and I have been pushing take-up in
my North West Durham constituency. The Minister will understand
that ensuring better pension savings is the most important thing
in the long term. I backed the 2019 manifesto, and I back the
Prime Minister who delivered it. Will my hon. Friend the Minister
implement the auto-enrolment review, and will he back my private
Member’s Bill to deliver it as soon as possible?
Answer that one! The truth is that, in respect of the 2017
auto-enrolment review and the changes that my hon. Friend sought
in his outstanding ten-minute rule Bill and the private Member’s
Bill we did not get to debate before the close of the last
parliamentary Session, he knows he has my full support. The
matter will be brought before the House as soon as possible.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister, .
(Reading East) (Lab)
The cost of living crisis is leaving families and pensioners
wondering how on earth they will make ends meet. Inflation is
running at 11% for everyday goods, and petrol is now nearly £2 a
litre, yet the Government’s response has favoured the wealthier
while failing those in greatest need. Will the Minister explain
why second home owners were offered extra help while at the very
same time the Government have yet to drive up the take-up of
pension credit? Will he also now publish the advice he received
from his own civil servants that warned of the effect of this
deeply unfair policy?
I do not believe that £37 billion of support should be sneered
at. The Chancellor set out £22 billion of support in the spring
and a further £15 billion of support last month; that includes
£650 on top of the pension credit from July, and the winter fuel
payment of £300 going to 8.2 million households. I strongly
believe that shows that the Government are taking serious action
to support the most vulnerable.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson, .
(Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
(SNP)
The removal of the triple lock is costing pensioners £500 this
year alone, and come October energy bills will have risen by
£1,700 compared with April 2021. The £300 winter fuel payment
does not come close to plugging that gap, let alone addressing
the other inflationary pressures that pensioners are dealing
with. Then we have the WASPI women, who have been struggling for
years. Following the findings of the parliamentary and health
service ombudsman, surely now—this time of crisis—is the time for
the Government to agree fair and fast compensation for the WASPI
women.
There was a lot in that question. In respect of the full package
of support, most pensioner households will receive £850 via the
additional winter fuel payment, the council tax rebate and the
energy bills support scheme. Pensioners who receive means-tested
benefits and are most in need of support will receive £1,500,
including payments in July and September.
The hon. Gentleman will be aware that the matter of the WASPI
women is a subject of and decision for the Court of Appeal, where
the matter was decided in favour of successive Governments—this
and the previous Labour Government—and that the ombudsman process
is an ongoing one, on which we do not comment.
Benefits Recipients: Effect of Inflation
(Kingston upon Hull North)
(Lab)
3. What assessment she has made of the effect of inflation on
households in receipt of social security benefits. (900275)
(Stockton North) (Lab)
20. What assessment she has made of the effect of inflation on
households in receipt of social security benefits. (900293)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse
Coffey)
The right hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North ( ) will be aware that, in
recognition of the cost of living challenge, we have announced a
new £15 billion support package that is targeted at those who are
most in need, bringing the total cost of living support to £37
billion. The extra support should cover every household, but is
particularly targeted at helping more than 8 million households
in receipt of means-tested benefits. The household support fund,
which is delivered through councils, is another way that
constituents can access help.
I must say to the Secretary of State that the £20 cut to
universal credit seems even meaner now. Even the package of
measures that she mentioned is not stopping what the Trussell
Trust has announced: an increasing number of people turning up to
get food parcels. In my own constituency, Unity in Community and
St John’s church, Bransholme, are seeing soaring demand for food
packages while their stocks are diminishing. I know that
Ministers are occupied with party games today, but when will the
Secretary of State get a grip of these benefits and set them at a
level that means that people can pay for their everyday
essentials?
Dr Coffey
The Government have always been clear that getting into work and
getting on in work is an important way to lift people’s
prosperity. That is why we lifted the national living wage from
April; why last December we quickly put in place a change in the
taper rate so that people keep more of what they earn, while
still getting support and benefits; and why we have stepped in
with a substantial package of support to help people with this
particular challenge of global inflation—caused not only by
supply chain challenges after covid, but by Putin’s invasion of
Ukraine, which has done a lot to damage to energy costs.
As well as being impacted by the soaring cost of living, two
thirds of the near 50,000 children in the Tees valley and
families on universal credit are affected by the punitive impact
of deductions. That is because most of them are paying back the
Department for Work and Pensions advance that is needed to
survive the five-week wait for their first universal credit
payment. Will the Secretary of State accept that every pound
clawed back is a pound not available for families to spend on
food and other essential costs? Will she change this cruel policy
now, and make a real difference to children and families already
living in poverty?
Dr Coffey
The hon. Gentleman forgets that the advance is there to spread
the payment that people are entitled to over a year into 13
payments. We have also enabled people in effect to have that
payment spread over two years, with 25 payments. It is about a
phasing of how we put into families’ pockets the benefits to
which they are entitled, and nothing else.
Dame (Gosport) (Con)
Among those worst impacted by the cost of living rising is the
army of unpaid carers who do so much not only to support their
friends and loved ones but to ease the pressure on the NHS. I
know that my right hon. Friend understands and appreciates that.
This is Carers Week; what thought has she given to increasing
unpaid carers allowance to support them and reflect their hard
work, sacrifice and need?
Dr Coffey
The whole House would unite with my hon. Friend in thanking
carers, and I am sure we all have lived experiences as well. I
think it is fair to say that carers allowance is not intended to
be a replacement salary or anything like that; it is a
contribution, and a modest contribution, I accept. As with all
benefits, we consider the uplift annually, and I will continue to
do so.
Low-income Households: Cost of Living
(Blaydon) (Lab)
5. What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the
delivery of support to low-income households with the cost of
living.(900277)
(Hornsey and Wood Green)
(Lab)
6. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of benefits rates
in the context of the rise in the level of inflation.(900278)
(Gordon) (SNP)
9. What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of
universal credit payment levels in the context of the rise in the
cost of living.(900281)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
We have announced £15 billion in further cost of living support,
bringing our total package to £37 billion this year. Through the
Government’s recent interventions, we are targeting those most in
need. Our package equates to at least £1,200 for almost 8 million
of the most vulnerable households, at a challenging time for many
people.
Earlier today, Carers Trust Tyne and Wear, which is based in my
Blaydon constituency, launched its report on the experiences of
unpaid carers during the pandemic and made the point that they
are the unsung heroes of the pandemic. As we have heard, carers
allowance is the lowest benefit of its kind, yet those who
receive it will get no cost of living support. Does the Minister
really believe that carers allowance is adequate in the face of
the current cost of living crisis?
I echo what my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has
already said. I also highlight the fact that households that pay
energy bills will receive the £400 cash grant to support them,
and that if somebody with a disability lives in a household,
there will be further funding with the £150 disability cost of
living payment.
My constituent, who is severely sight impaired and has learning
difficulties, lives with his mother, who is basically
supplementing his day-to-day living from her own pensioner
poverty pot, because of the relentless increase of inflation.
What action will the Minister take urgently to address this
terrible injustice, with one person who is already in poverty
having to try to help her severely disabled son? Will he step in
to assist in this terrible cost of living crisis?
I do not know the exact details of that case, but there may be
opportunities in that household to explore pension credits. Of
course, the Chancellor, with support from my right hon. Friend
the Secretary of State, recently announced that the household
support fund has also been increased by a further £500 million,
until April next year.
The Scottish Government have doubled their game-changing Scottish
child payment to £20 per child per week and will increase that to
£25 by the end of the year, thereby supporting more than 100,000
children. Why will the UK Government not commit to increasing
universal credit by an equivalent amount over the same timescale,
and match that for and extend it to those on legacy benefits as
well?
As we have highlighted, we have just set out a really significant
increase in benefits payments as part of the package that is now
worth £37 billion. As a result of the work we are doing not just
to provide support but to enable people to get into work, there
are now 200,000 fewer children in the UK who are in absolute
poverty before housing costs.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister, .
(Westminster North) (Lab)
The Government have been scrabbling to catch up with the
escalating cost of living crisis. Any and all help for
lower-income families is very welcome, but the fact is that the
protection of those on universal credit and other benefits from
the worst impacts of inflation depends on their having adequate
and predictable levels of income. How is it acceptable, then,
that 42% of universal credit claimants face deductions of, on
average, £61 a month? What is the Minister going to do about
that?
We have already set out our cost of living payments, which will
benefit 8 million households in the UK. They are significant and
much needed as we face these current cost of living challenges.
It is also important to highlight that, over the past couple of
years, we have seen the maximum amount that can be taken in
deductions from benefits fall from 40% to 30% and now down to
25%.
Unemployment: Rother Valley
(Rother Valley)
(Con)
7. What steps she is taking to tackle unemployment in Rother
Valley constituency. (900279)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
Is that me? I am sorry, Mr Speaker, it has been a long weekend.
[Interruption.] The jubilee, Mr Speaker, that is exactly why.
The Government want everyone—whoever they are and wherever they
live—to be able to find a job, progress in work and thrive in the
labour market. Through Restart and the Way to Work scheme, we are
working closely with employers to help claimants into jobs. I am
delighted to hear that my hon. Friend recently worked in
partnership with our Jobcentre Plus and local employers to bring
two job fairs to his constituents of the Rother Valley.
I congratulate the Minister and the whole Government on the
success of the Way to Work campaign, which is getting people into
jobs up and down our country. The surest way out of this cost of
living crisis is getting people into jobs. As my hon. Friend
mentioned, I have held several job fairs in my constituency to
help people get back into work. As the Way to Work campaign
enters its final weeks, will she say what is available for those
people who are not yet in work in Rother Valley?
Through the Way to Work campaign, we will continue to bring
employers and claimants together in our jobcentres, and we know
that that is what changes lives and fills vacancies faster. In
the local jobcentre in Rother Valley, we are offering
sector-based work academy programme swaps in those priority
vacancy sectors, such as health and social care, warehousing,
construction and security to support people to get quickly into
the labour market.
Kickstart Scheme Closure
(Sevenoaks) (Con)
8. What steps she plans to take to support young people into work
following the closure of the Kickstart scheme. (900280)
(Wolverhampton North East)
(Con)
19. What steps she plans to take to support young people into
work following the closure of the Kickstart scheme. (900292)
(Eastbourne) (Con)
21. What steps she plans to take to support young people into
work following the closure of the Kickstart scheme. (900294)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
Following the success of Kickstart, which has seen over 162,600
young people start their new roles, the DWP youth offer will
continue to support our young people. I have observed at first
hand how our new youth hubs and our extended Jobcentre Plus
network have helped to move young people into those local
opportunities more quickly. That includes recent visits to
Eastbourne’s Hospitality Rocks and the Wolverhampton College’s
electric vehicle and green technologies centre.
In Sevenoaks and Swanley, the Kickstart scheme was welcomed with
open arms. It is used by many brilliant local employees,
including Go-Coach and the Mount Vineyard in Shoreham. Will my
hon. Friend ensure that the Way to Work scheme focuses
particularly on helping younger people in this way, and on
helping specific sectors that are struggling to recruit, such as
social care?
My hon. Friend is right. The scheme has transformed how we
recruit everybody, including our young people. Our DWP employment
advisers are working closely with employers to meet that local
demand, including for HGV drivers and care workers. Way to Work
has offered a unique opportunity to ramp up that activity, expand
the approach, and maximise quicker employment into new sectors,
with Kickstart leading the way.
Last month, I had the great pleasure of hosting an apprenticeship
showcase on behalf of the aerospace and defence industry in
Parliament. I met a constituent, Tianna, who is currently an
apprentice at Collins Aerospace in my constituency. Tianna got
the opportunity to showcase her enthusiasm and her skills to
Collins through the Kickstart scheme. Can the Minister reassure
me that other young people in Wolverhampton will have equal
opportunity to showcase their own talents and ambitions in the
future?
I can reassure my hon. Friend on that. In Wolverhampton, our
jobcentres host an employers’ zone, which allows local businesses
with vacancies and key training providers to meet claimants and
enable those swaps and job-matching sessions. In the new
Wolverhampton youth hub located in The Way, the youth zone
directly supports young people furthest away from the labour
market to find training and employment and, currently, exciting
opportunities in the summer’s Commonwealth games, too.
I thank my hon. Friend for her visit to Eastbourne and the great
energy and commitment she has shown to raising local aspiration.
The kickstart scheme has been a huge success locally. Now
hundreds of young people are in employment and building their
careers—notably in Sussex NHS, where there are hundreds of new
entrants. We are still working hard in hospitality and care,
other sectors where there are opportunities as yet unfilled. What
work is there coming down the line to connect young people with
some of those opportunities, including in the digital and
creative sector, where it is also important for us to build?
My hon. Friend rightly highlights the success of the kickstart
scheme. I know she has had personal involvement in supporting
young people in her constituency. Building on that success is an
important question. The Way to Work initiative is building on
those key links with local employers, such as the Sussex NHS,
that offer good-quality opportunities for young people.
Meanwhile, our work coaches continue to support jobseekers of all
ages in accessing those vacancies and opportunities that she
mentions in all those in-demand sectors.
(Birmingham, Selly Oak)
(Lab)
The kickstart scheme was supposed to generate 600,000 placements.
In reality, it generated around 235,000, and of those 80,000 were
unfilled at the time that it closed. Does the Minister really
think we should describe that as a success? Would not most people
be asking what went wrong?
I will happily write to the hon. Gentleman with the correct
numbers on this. Some 162,600 lives have been transformed at the
most challenging time, with well over 200,000 vacancies created
by employers who would never have looked at this way of
recruiting and bringing young people into the labour market
before. It is clear that many employers thought they were doing a
favour by getting a young person in for six months. The scheme
has transformed recruitment, young lives and opportunities, and
employers have found that they are the ones who have had that
favour done for them.
Benefits Rates: People with Disabilities
(Edinburgh West) (LD)
11. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of benefits
rates for people with disabilities. (900283)
The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions ()
We will spend more than £64 billion this year on benefits to
support disabled people and people with health conditions.
Claimants will also get one-off support worth up to £1,200 this
year, including the new £650 cost of living payment for people on
means-tested benefits and £150 for people on disability benefits,
to help with additional costs.
The cost of living crisis is disproportionately affecting
disabled people. More than half of those living in poverty in
this country are either disabled themselves, or in a household
where there is a disabled person. My constituents in that
situation regularly come to me and say that the help they are
receiving from the Government is not enough, even with that
welcome increase. Will the Government consider specifically
targeted further help to help alleviate the pressures they
face?
I share the hon. Lady’s passion for this issue and her concern on
behalf of her constituents. That is exactly why the Government
have already acted: we have provided generous support in seeking
to level up opportunity and improve the everyday experience for
people with disabilities. What we have just been discussing comes
on top of the package already announced, worth more than £22
billion, from the spring statement. We are clear that delivering
this important additional support is an absolute priority; the
DWP disability cost of living payments will accordingly be made
by September, and other payments sooner than that, because we
recognise the need here. However, I would take a step back and
look at the overall approach, noting for example the agreement
from the Resolution Foundation that this approach is the right
one.
Mr Speaker
We now come to the shadow Minister, .
(Lewisham, Deptford)
(Lab)
Thousands of disabled people are due to lose £150 because the
Government are removing their eligibility for the warm home
discount. The Chancellor has announced that they will receive an
additional £150 in his cost of living emergency package, but
robbing Peter to pay Paul merely puts disabled people back where
they started. How does the Minister think this does anything to
address their cost of living crisis?
The shadow Minister needs to look at this in the round, because
we have a set of cost of living payments designed to support the
households with the lowest incomes. That is the right approach,
as I have cited from the Resolution Foundation, and the Joseph
Rowntree Foundation also says that this is a very welcome way of
doing it because it targets support to where it is most needed.
In addition, we are recognising how disabled people do have
further costs, and that is why we are also putting in place the
£150 that is targeted on those with the means-tested lowest
incomes.
I am really not sure that the Minister heard my question; maybe
she has been rather distracted. Some disabled people will not be
better off. The Government’s disability strategy was declared
unlawful by the High Court, and NatCen Social Research’s report
on health and disability benefits clearly showed the poverty that
many disabled people are living in. Does the Minister not think
it is time to finally start listening to disabled people and
addressing their cost of living crisis?
We are. It is unfortunate that the hon. Lady cannot engage with
the wider point that I am making around the nature of
means-tested benefits—for example, the many on unemployment and
support allowance or universal credit who are also disabled and
who will benefit from the approach we are taking.
In-work Poverty: Cost of Living
(Glasgow South West)
(SNP)
12. What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on steps
to tackle in-work poverty in the context of the rise in the cost
of living. (900284)
(East Renfrewshire)
(SNP)
15. What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on steps
to tackle in-work poverty in the context of the rise in the cost
of living. (900287)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse
Coffey)
This Government have taken decisive action to make work pay,
giving 1.7 million families an extra £1,000 per year, on average,
through changes to the universal credit taper, work allowances,
and increasing the national living wage to £9.50 an hour. Some
extra support is coming in through the packages we have already
mentioned today. It is also important to make the House aware
that we extend help to people already on universal credit who are
working to see what we can do to help them to progress in work
and to take up other opportunities, such as making sure that they
know about things like childcare support.
So grants rather than loans are the solution after all. Evidence
from Feeding Britain and Good Food Scotland shows, for example,
that people who work in a supermarket cannot afford to shop
there, with fridges being switched off and lightbulbs being
removed at home, and more pawning, borrowing and reliance on
credit. Now that the principle is that grants are preferable to
loans, will the Secretary of State apply the same principle to
universal credit advance payments, as argued for by the Work and
Pensions Committee?
Dr Coffey
This is the second time I have discussed this particular topic
today. People can choose to get an extra payment of universal
credit earlier, and then we spread that over the entire year, so,
in effect, they get 13 payments instead of 12. That is what the
advance is about. A number of people who move across from legacy
benefits get some run-ons of different benefits to try to help
with the cash transition when they are used to getting cash on
that more regular basis. We will continue to make sure, though,
that our top priority is to help people to get into work and to
progress in work.
Having a child is one of the tipping points that can plunge
families into poverty. Each year, thousands of claimants are
excluded from statutory maternity pay by arbitrary rules that
disadvantage people in low-paid and insecure employment. These
claimants are forced to rely on maternity allowance, which is
offset against any universal credit they receive, leaving them
thousands of pounds worse off than those on statutory maternity
pay. When will the UK Government tackle this manifest injustice
rooted in their policies?
Dr Coffey
The two benefits are completely different, recognising the
situations that people find themselves in, so they will be
treated differently. The hon. Lady should of course be aware that
this was challenged in court and the court did not go with the
person who challenged it, recognising that they are completely
different benefits.
Disabled People in Work
(North Swindon) (Con)
13. What progress the Government have made on increasing the
number of disabled people in work by 1 million between 2017 and
2027. (900285)
The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions ()
The latest figures released on 17 May show that between the first
quarter of 2017 and the second quarter of this year, the number
of disabled people in employment increased by 1.3 million,
meaning that that goal—that manifesto commitment from the
Conservative party—has been exceeded after five years.
The Government can be rightly proud of unlocking the potential of
1.3 million more disabled people, but the majority of people with
disabilities or long-term health conditions will develop those
while of working age. What more can the Government do to support
employers with their changing workforce?
My hon. Friend has a great deal of experience and wisdom here,
and he is absolutely right. It is why we are committed to
supporting disabled people to remain in work through, in
particular, our Access to Work and Disability Confident schemes.
Access to Work in particular is a really important grant that
supports the recruitment and retention of disabled people by
contributing to the extra costs they can face in the workplace. I
would also like the message to go out loud and clear from here
that Disability Confident is critical and can help employers and
employees and have disabled people’s talents included in economic
growth.
Closure of Seaham DWP Office
(Easington) (Lab)
17. If she will publish the individual site assessment on the
closure of her Department's office in Seaham. (900290)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
An overarching equality assessment has been completed, which
considers the impact on all DWP colleagues. This has been made
available for the House in the Library, and I am also arranging
for the site-specific equality assessment for Seaham to be shared
with the hon. Member.
I thank the Minister for that response, but previously when I
have raised the issue of the Seaham site, I have been assured or
reassured that DWP employees at that office would be relocated to
other offices within the region. Is she aware that the private
bus operator Go North East is proposing cuts and changes to 80
regional bus services, many affecting my area? Does that not show
that the DWP planning assumptions are rather precarious? Many of
the DWP closures, including the one in Seaham, are in areas of
economic deprivation that can ill afford to lose good-quality
public sector jobs.
This network design change is to reshape how the Department
works, resulting in a smaller, greener and better-quality estate
for our colleagues. Many of these buildings across the land offer
back-of-house functions, and they are just not good-quality
buildings for our colleagues. I absolutely understand the point.
Where colleagues are being offered new opportunities to go to the
Wear View House site in Sunderland, which is approximately 7.5
miles away, there will be individual one-to-one conversations
with them about what is right for them and how they can stay with
DWP and continue in a role that works for them.
Child Poverty: Future Trends
(Greenwich and Woolwich)
(Lab)
18. What assessment she has made of future trends in the level of
child poverty. (900291)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
The latest official statistics show that 200,000 fewer children
were on absolute low income before housing costs in 2020-21,
compared with 2019-20. This Government take the cost of living
very seriously, and that is why we have announced a new £15
billion support package targeted at those most in need, bringing
the total cost of living support to £37 billion this year.
The Department’s own data makes it clear that rates of absolute
child poverty after housing costs in families with three or more
children rose by 300,000 between 2016-17 and 2019-20. With the
situation for children in these families having worsened
significantly, and with inflation biting, will the Government now
finally reconsider their pernicious two-child policy?
The two-child policy plays an important role in balancing
fairness between those receiving benefits and those who are not.
However, as we have already said through much of the questioning
today, we have put a huge package on the table, which will
benefit families of all sizes. With a vibrant employment market,
there are big opportunities for people not just to get into work,
but to progress in work as well.
Household Support Fund Allocation
(East Devon) (Con)
22. What recent progress her Department has made on allocating
the household support fund to local authorities. (900295)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
Local authorities in England have already received their
allocations for the household support fund for April to
September, and those have been published online. The Government
recently announced a further £421 million increase for the
household support fund, extending it from October to March 2023.
Devolved Administrations will also receive a further £79 million
to help households with the cost of essentials, bringing the
total funding for this support to £1.5 billion across the United
Kingdom.
Devon has been allocated a further £5 million to help households
in the county with the cost of living crisis. What has the
Secretary of State done to ensure that that money is directed at
the right places in Devon to make sure that the support really
helps?
Local authorities, with their local ties and knowledge, are best
placed to identify those most in need. To assist local
authorities with identifying those who may be in need of
additional discretionary support, the DWP has introduced data
shares with local authorities, which enables them to proactively
identify individuals in need, as well as the supporting guidance
for the scheme.
(Brentford and Isleworth)
(Lab)
The Government were able to switch on, and then switch off, the
£20 universal credit uplift quite easily and efficiently. What
conversations did the Minister have with Treasury colleagues
about doing the same again for those on universal credit in the
latest package of measures, rather than imposing another
bureaucratic headache on already overstretched councils?
We have important guidance in place to support local authorities,
but they are best placed to provide support for people in their
individual localities. That is why the household support fund has
been designed with that in mind.
State Pension: Deferring Entitlement
(Paisley and Renfrewshire
South) (SNP)
24. What (a) information and (b) financial advice her Department
provides to people approaching state pension age on deferring
their entitlement to the state pension. (900297)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
Information regarding deferral is published on gov.uk and
provided in the state pension claim invitation letter and through
the “Check your State Pension” forecast service, or someone can
speak to the Pension Service direct. Deferring a state pension is
a personal choice, and whether deferring a claim to the new state
pension is the right decision will depend on a range of factors
that are relevant to the personal circumstances of the
individual, but no specific financial advice is given.
The DWP wrote to my constituent encouraging him to defer his
pension. Unfortunately, he passed away last year, but the DWP
told his wife Caroline that she was entitled to a £30,000 lump
sum and £100 a week. After weeks of being passed from pillar to
post, the DWP is now saying that Caroline is entitled to nothing,
but it will give her £50 for the emotional distress and incorrect
information. All the correspondence that she has from the DWP
contains conflicting information and no warning of the risks of
deferring a pension. Will the Minister meet me to rectify the
situation and ensure that it does not happen to anyone else?
If the hon. Lady sends me the correspondence, I will make sure
that it is looked into within a matter of days.
Topical Questions
(Swansea East) (Lab)
T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental
responsibilities.(900298)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse
Coffey)
What a marvellous weekend the country enjoyed. I am grateful to
everybody who was doing that, including my civil servants who
were working over the jubilee weekend, as we are working hard to
make sure that we can deliver the cost of living payments to
people next month. I continue to congratulate not only them but
work coaches up and down the land who are helping people to get
into work. I am pleased to say that we had a record number of
claimants getting into work in March, and we had more than
100,000 in April as well, so we are well on our way to achieving
our ambition of half a million extra people. I referred to the
cost of living payments that we intend to deploy, and in the next
couple of weeks, on 15 June, we will have our pension credit day
of action. I encourage all Members of Parliament to make their
constituents aware of that opportunity to claim benefits.
Everyone Deserves a Christmas is a Swansea project that supports
struggling families to enjoy a few treats at Christmas. It starts
taking referrals in November, but this year, worried families are
already requesting hampers, because they are struggling to pay
their bills and feed their kids now. What hope can the Government
give to struggling yet working families that they will be able to
provide for their children’s needs as the cost of living crisis
deepens?
Dr Coffey
The poverty statistics—admittedly, they are statistics rather
than individual experiences; I accept that—show that, where both
parents are working full time, fewer than 3% of people are
effectively in poverty. I want to extend the help that we can
give through our local jobcentres to help that particular family
to perhaps extend their work or get on in work. It will be those
measures, as well as the extra cost of living payments that we
are making, that will help people with the challenges they face
now.
(Sevenoaks) (Con)
T2. Parents across Sevenoaks and Swanley are facing rising
childcare costs. I know that there is a huge amount of support
available, so can the Secretary of State update the House on what
she is doing to simplify the system so that it is clearer to
people what they are entitled to and easier for people to
claim?(900299)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
The Department is promoting the generous universal credit
childcare costs offer as part of a wider national advertising
campaign, and it is also working across Government to promote the
full range of childcare support through the “Childcare Choices”
website and by putting new guidance in place for our work
coaches.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Leicester South)
(Lab/Co-op)
I join the Secretary of State in congratulating all those who
worked over the weekend, and in saying that it was a fabulous
platinum jubilee weekend. May I congratulate her on her sung
prayer that she shared on Twitter yesterday, which shows that it
is not just at karaoke where her singing excels?
Work should be the best defence from the rising cost of living,
yet millions in work are in poverty. The numbers in overall
employment are down by 500,000 since before the pandemic, and
there are 3 million people on out-of-work benefits not looking
for work. Sheffield Hallam University estimates that about
800,000 of those people on out-of-work benefits, often in places
such as Wakefield, could be helped back into work with the right
support and a plan. The Secretary of State promised to help the
economically inactive find work. Why is she failing?
Dr Coffey
Well, I do not have the voice of an angel, and nor do I claim to
have the pathway to heaven in this regard, but I am very
conscious of the people of Wakefield, as I am of those right
across the country. On people who are economically inactive, I
have been consistent in saying that my priority is those who are
currently on benefits and receiving financial support. They will
always be my top priority, but I am working across Government to
see what we can do, particularly working with employers, to
ensure that the economically inactive come back into the
workplace.
The number on out-of-work benefits has increased by 1 million
since the pandemic. We have the highest level of worklessness due
to ill health for 20 years. Increasing numbers of over-50s are
leaving the labour market who might stay in it if there was
flexible work. More parents are leaving the labour market because
they cannot afford childcare. And this is at a time of 1.3
million vacancies. We need to increase the supply of workers to
get inflation down, so why does the Secretary of State not have a
plan to deliver that?
Dr Coffey
There clearly is a plan. That is why there are actually more
people on payroll than prior to the pandemic. I am very conscious
of the challenges for the self-employed, and also that some
people have currently chosen to leave the labour market. That is
what we are working on across Government, as well as with the
activity on childcare. We will continue to make sure that it is
in everybody’s interests to work, because they will be better off
in work than not working, unless they cannot work.
(South Basildon and East
Thurrock) (Con)
T3. I congratulate the Minister on his campaign to increase the
uptake of pension credit, which is a vital way of ensuring that
our most vulnerable pensioner households get everything they are
entitled to. Although more than 2,000 people in my constituency
are already claiming pension credit, following recent
announcements on cost of living support, where does my hon.
Friend suggest that people look to check whether they are getting
everything they are entitled to?(900300)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
Obviously, there is the Government site—gov.uk—and the phone
number 0800 99 1234. More particularly, I today met Citizens
Advice, Age UK and various other pensioner charities that would
be very keen to assist on an ongoing basis. I must very strongly
recommend my hon. Friend to get behind the pension credit
awareness day, which takes place on Wednesday 15 June. Obviously
his local authority, Essex County Council, has a role to play, as
do all local authorities, because it has the data that can
identify specific individuals who could apply for but do not have
pension credit.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(Aberdeen North) (SNP)
People across the UK are dying younger as a result of UK
Government austerity. A new Glasgow University and Glasgow Centre
for Population Health report has found:
“Austerity is highly likely to be the most substantial causal
contributor to the stalled mortality trends seen in Scotland and
across the UK”.
Will the Secretary of State acknowledge the tragic human cost of
the cruel Westminster austerity agenda and urge the UK Government
to change course?
Dr Coffey
I am afraid I just do not recognise the situation that the hon.
Member mentions, and I do not know the basis of the academic
report. What I do know is that we are getting more people into
work. I do not know the status of health in Glasgow specifically,
but I do know that it is part of the levelling-up mission of this
Government to ensure that we reduce health inequality. In
particular, I encourage her to continue to work with her public
health authority to ensure that people are well prepared to go
into work, but can also stay in work through occupational health
services.
(East Surrey) (Con)
T4. Many of my poorest households in East Surrey will be anxious
about their energy bills and about what our cost of living
package will mean for them. Now that we have had the Ofgem
forecast, will the Minister confirm that the expected average
increase in energy bills this year will be about £1,200 and that
our package of support for anyone on means-tested benefits will
mean that they receive £1,200?(900302)
It was vital that the Chancellor, the Cabinet and the Government
looked at all the cost pressures arising in the economy. Once we
knew what was happening with the energy price cap, it was
possible for the Chancellor to start looking at what the options
might be. We also needed to look at what payment mechanisms could
be used to get the funding out to people. It is therefore
entirely right that this package was put together and that it
should have the impact that my hon. Friend has so clearly set
out.
(Brentford and Isleworth)
(Lab)
T5. My constituent is a paramedic and was on the frontline
throughout the pandemic. He told me how much he was struggling
with the cost of living crisis and how he feels cheated out of
the household dream that if people worked hard, they could enjoy
a good quality of life. He speaks for millions of NHS staff and
many others. Does the Minister still think it was a good idea to
raise taxes for working people this year?(900303)
Dr Coffey
As the hon. Lady knows, the levy that was introduced is there to
support the NHS, particularly in tackling backlogs, but also to
support adult social care, and I am sure her constituent could
benefit from the outcomes of both. The hon. Lady should also be
aware that next month the threshold for national insurance will
rise, which will mean that 70% of working households will see a
cut in the amount they pay in tax and national insurance.
(Haltemprice and Howden)
(Con)
T8. This year Government receipts are at a record high, and
billions of pounds have rightly been announced in cost of living
support. However, for those most in need—people on means-tested
benefits—the support is somewhere between £1,000 and £1,200,
which is roughly what they lost when the £20 universal credit
uplift was withdrawn. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has said
that withdrawing the uplift would put half a million people into
poverty. Citizens Advice has estimated that it has caused 2.3
million people to fall into debt. Times were tough during the
covid crisis, but they are going to get tougher this year, so
will the Minister look at the £20 that has been taken from
universal credit, with a view to returning it by the time of the
financial statement in the autumn?(900306)
I understand my right hon. Friend’s point, but it is important to
highlight that the £20 uplift to universal credit was only ever a
temporary measure to deal with the immediate impact of
coronavirus. Since then we have been monitoring the situation and
providing the support that is required at particular times, and
that has led to the latest package, which totals £37 billion. As
I said in other responses, it is vital to highlight that, at a
time of record vacancies, there is a responsibility and
requirement to help people to tackle poverty by being able to get
into the workplace and to progress in employment as well.
(Liverpool, West Derby)
(Lab)
T6. Almost a fifth of pensioners are living in poverty under this
Government. With the abandonment of the triple lock, a real-terms
cut to their state pension—already one of the lowest in Europe,
at around £500—bills rising by £1,000 and food costs spiralling,
will the Minister acknowledge that the measures announced by the
Chancellor will not stop many pensioners in West Derby being
plunged into poverty over the coming months?(900304)
The reality is that the Chancellor has announced two packages,
worth £37 billion. Those will see a £650 uplift in pension credit
from July this year, as well as a £300 increase in the winter
fuel payment, which goes to 8.2 million households. There are
also the council tax rebate, the energy bill support scheme and
the disability cost of living payment, on top of other matters
that have been set out.
(Harlow) (Con)
T9. As colleagues on both sides of the House will know from
personal experience or from their constituents, it is often
smaller things, rather than big Government schemes, that help
those with a disability to get by. I will soon be presenting my
disability charter to Harlow Council to ensure that Harlow is a
disabled-friendly town. That includes measures such as enforcing
parking restrictions for disabled bays, using CCTV cameras to
prevent people from taking up disabled parking spaces, and making
sure that clean and accessible toilets are available. What is the
Minister doing to ensure that appropriate fines or penalty
measures are actioned when people who do not have a disability
are found to be breaking the rules and parking in disabled spaces
in public or private areas?(900307)
The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions ()
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on his campaigning zeal and
vigour on this issue, which is well placed. I look forward to
seeing his charter just as much as I hope that Harlow Council
will. He will know that local councils have the enforcement
responsibility so it is for them to best address his question,
but I confirm that parking in a disabled space without a valid
disabled person’s badge is defined as a higher-level parking
contravention in the relevant regulations. I hope that helps him
and me to work together to get the best for disabled people in
Harlow in the future.
(Bedford) (Lab)
T7. I welcome the DWP’s campaign to encourage the take-up of
pension credit with its awareness day on 15 June, but given that
more than three quarters of a million pensioner
households—including the most vulnerable in Bedford and
Kempston—are missing out on that crucial help, what plans does
the Minister have to improve benefit take-up in the longer
term?(900305)
We met a whole host of organisations, from Citizens Advice to Age
UK, BBC and ITV as well as utilities, banks and local
authorities, all of whom will try to assist with the process over
and above what the Government are already doing. But, much as I
said to my hon. Friend the Member for South Basildon and East
Thurrock (), there is a role for
Bedfordshire county council to play, which I believe is the hon.
Member’s local authority—[Interruption.]. Well, his local
authority can play a role in identifying and supporting people
from the local area and getting them to claim.
(Rhondda) (Lab)
Fruit is going unpicked, there are long delays at airports
because there are not enough baggage-handlers, flights are being
cancelled because there are not enough people to work in the
airline industry and lots of bars and restaurants cannot open at
all because they simply have not got enough staff. Where will we
find the additional workers to ensure that the economy grows?
Dr Coffey
We are working with a number of employers in a number of ways to
try to help them fill their vacancies. We learnt a lot from the
kickstart scheme, such as bringing employers into jobcentres to
undertake interviews. We are also working with employers on the
descriptions they put into job requirements and what is really
needed to fill a job. I am conscious that there are lots of
vacancies—it is a fortunate position in which the UK finds
itself—and we are working hard to ensure that people get and stay
in those jobs.
(Aberdeen South) (SNP)
In Scotland, in the last year alone some 15,000 people were
sanctioned by the Secretary of State. Given that she is such a
stickler for rules, surely she will show the same resolve this
evening and place a sanction on her party leader.
Mr Speaker
Order. That is not relevant. Carry on.
Dr Coffey
Mr Speaker, I was going to say that when we share taxpayers’
money with people looking for work, it is important that they
honour their side of the bargain. When they do not, there often
have to be consequences. That is not something that we seek to
do—we try to work with people—but it is really important that
people do their bit of the bargain when they look for work.
(North Shropshire) (LD)
I am troubled by the number of constituents who have recently
come to me because either they have been overpaid in error by the
DWP or they are struggling to receive their first payment because
of administrative difficulties, when they are already really
struggling. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that
errors and disputes can be resolved satisfactorily and in a
timely way so that those repayments will not push them over the
edge and into poverty?
If the hon. Lady writes to the Department, whether to me or to
the Secretary of State direct, we will look into those specific
examples, ensure that they are addressed and get a decent answer
to her on the specific problems. However, I cannot give a generic
answer today.
(Rutherglen and Hamilton
West) (Ind)
According to the Child Poverty Action Group, each month some
4,300 households in my constituency are receiving an average of
£57 less than they are entitled to because of automatic
deductions from their universal credit, and that affects about
3,700 children. What action is the Department taking to reform
the deduction system so that innocent children are not
disadvantaged?
As I said earlier, we put forward policies that have reduced
deductions from 40% to 30% and now to 25%. Those policies and the
support available for families are designed to help tackle child
poverty, along with enabling people to get into work and to
progress in employment.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, Sir .
Sir (East Ham) (Lab)
The household support fund now accounts for billions in public
spending. What information is the Department collecting about how
that fund is being used, who is benefiting from it, what their
circumstances are and how much support they receive? What plans
does the Department have to publish that information?
Dr Coffey
We issue funding based on grant conditions. We undertake a very
light-touch approach with councils to make sure that they satisfy
those conditions. We do not collect extensive information, but it
is important that we allow councils to get on. They are close to
the community, so they are well placed to make sure that that
discretionary funding can go to the right people.
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