Every parliamentary written question tabled by Rachael Maskell this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 43 · Department for Work and Pensions
What assessment she has made of the potential merits of ending conditionality through sanctioning in relation to social security.
The Department has made no assessment on ending conditionality through sanctioning. It is right that there should be conditions and consequences to labour market support. We will continue to ensure that claimants who need support receive it and consider how to best tailor this support to their individual needs.
How many people with a disabled person in their household pay a spare room subsidy payment.
Easements from RSRS deductions allow for the provision of an additional bedroom to support the needs of disabled people and families of disabled children such as where members of the household are unable to share a bedroom or where overnight care is required from a non-resident carer where they meet the qualifying criteria. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. The information requested on how many people with a disabled person in their household pay a spare room subsidy payment is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. All DWP policies are kept under review and all decisions are taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing, and the challenging fiscal context. Data on number of people subject to RSRS is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.
How many people pay spare room subsidy payments.
Easements from RSRS deductions allow for the provision of an additional bedroom to support the needs of disabled people and families of disabled children such as where members of the household are unable to share a bedroom or where overnight care is required from a non-resident carer where they meet the qualifying criteria. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. The information requested on how many people with a disabled person in their household pay a spare room subsidy payment is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. All DWP policies are kept under review and all decisions are taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing, and the challenging fiscal context. Data on number of people subject to RSRS is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.
Whether she has considered ending spare room subsidy payments.
Easements from RSRS deductions allow for the provision of an additional bedroom to support the needs of disabled people and families of disabled children such as where members of the household are unable to share a bedroom or where overnight care is required from a non-resident carer where they meet the qualifying criteria. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities to those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. The information requested on how many people with a disabled person in their household pay a spare room subsidy payment is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. All DWP policies are kept under review and all decisions are taken in the context of the Government’s missions, goals on housing, and the challenging fiscal context. Data on number of people subject to RSRS is published and available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk.
What methods her Department uses to calculate the minimum amount of social security that a person can live off.
Under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 the Secretary of State is required by law to review State Pension and benefit rates each year to see if they have retained their value in relation to the general level of prices or earnings. We have uprated benefit rates for 2025/26 in line with inflation, with 5.7 million Universal Credit households forecast to gain by an average of £150 annually. In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we recently announced that we will improve the adequacy of the standard allowance with the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. This increase will be for new and existing customers and will benefit millions of people.
What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on ensuring that (a) voluntary and (b) community organisations are adequately funded to support the child poverty strategy.
Local Authorities are key partners in tackling child poverty and the Child Poverty Taskforce, co-chaired by the Secretary of State, will bring forward a UK-wide child poverty strategy which supports and enables shared solutions. The Taskforce recognises that this is a complex landscape and has engaged extensively with Local Authorities about how the UK strategy can build from existing good practice and be based on understanding what matters to local communities. The September 2024 ministerial taskforce brought together local leaders from combined and local governments in England, who joined Ministers to discuss the experience of poverty in their local communities, and innovative solutions underway. The Child Poverty Taskforce recognises the causes of child poverty are deep-rooted, with solutions that go beyond government, and will involve action from across society, including businesses, voluntary, community and social enterprises, working together in new and improved partnerships. A rolling programme of meetings between the Taskforce and experts, including from the voluntary and community sector, is supporting strategy development. Furthermore, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is a member of the Taskforce. The Taskforce will set out more details on the child poverty strategy in due course.
What estimate she has made of potential impact of the potential impact of proposals to amend Carer's Allowance in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, on costs to (a) local authority adult social care services and (b) NHS.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper set out our plans to reform health and disability benefits and employment support. There are no proposals to amend Carer’s Allowance in the Pathways to Work Green Paper and therefore no such estimate has been made. As the Green Paper sets out, we will consider any impacts our reforms might have on benefits for unpaid carers as part of our wider consideration of responses to the consultation and as we develop our detailed proposals for change. We will also continue to work closely with the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure everyone’s health and care needs are met. Our plans are designed to protect the most vulnerable and give disabled people equal chances and choices to work. They are backed by £1bn a year for employment support to give disabled people and people with health conditions help into work that they have been denied for too long. Evidence shows that good work is good for mental and physical health and reduces pressure and costs on the NHS. We are taking other action to improve Carer’s Allowance separate to the Green Paper. We have pegged the weekly Carer’s Allowance earnings limit to 16 hours’ work at National Living Wage (NLW) levels, and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. The Carer’s Allowance earnings limit increased to be £196 a week net earnings on 7 April 2025, compared to £151 in 24/25. This is the largest ever increase in the earnings limit since Carer’s Allowance was introduced in 1976 and the highest percentage increase since 2001. Over 60,000 additional people will be able to receive Carer’s Allowance between 2025/26 and 2029/30 as a result.
What (a) funding and (b) devolved powers she plans to provide to local authorities to help them tackle child poverty.
Local Authorities are key partners in tackling child poverty and the Child Poverty Taskforce, co-chaired by the Secretary of State, will bring forward a UK-wide child poverty strategy which supports and enables shared solutions. The Taskforce recognises that this is a complex landscape and has engaged extensively with Local Authorities about how the UK strategy can build from existing good practice and be based on understanding what matters to local communities. The September 2024 ministerial taskforce brought together local leaders from combined and local governments in England, who joined Ministers to discuss the experience of poverty in their local communities, and innovative solutions underway. The Child Poverty Taskforce recognises the causes of child poverty are deep-rooted, with solutions that go beyond government, and will involve action from across society, including businesses, voluntary, community and social enterprises, working together in new and improved partnerships. A rolling programme of meetings between the Taskforce and experts, including from the voluntary and community sector, is supporting strategy development. Furthermore, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport is a member of the Taskforce. The Taskforce will set out more details on the child poverty strategy in due course.
What steps she is taking to help tackle poverty among parents who are carers of disabled children.
Tackling child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government. The Child Poverty Taskforce’s publication of 23 October ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’ sets out how we are developing the Strategy, exploring all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. Parental employment is a key part of the work we are doing. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments. The Child Poverty Taskforce is progressing work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy as soon as possible. This is a cross-government effort. The Department for Education is working to provide the best start in life through high-quality early education and childcare to raise standards and help parents to work, for example through the new breakfast club programme, and expanding wraparound childcare for primary school children across England by increasing the number of places available, to support working families. We have jointly announced with DfE that we are expanding free school meals to all children in households on Universal Credit. The Department for Business and Trade has responsibility for policy on flexible working and carer’s leave, which is another key element. And the benefit system, in addition, makes provision for disabled children through Disability Living Allowance (DLA), and for their parents through the carer element and the disabled child addition within Universal Credit (UC). Support is also available through Carer’s Allowance (CA). Where carers are able to work, the weekly CA earnings limit for those in receipt of CA is now pegged at 16 hours work at National Living Wage (NLW) levels, and in future it will increase when the NLW increases. The earnings limit increased to £196 a week, on 7 April 2025, compared to £151 in 24/25. This is the largest ever increase in the earnings limit since Carer’s Allowance was introduced in 1976 and the highest percentage increase since 2001. As a result, unpaid carers will be able to increase their income, and many will now have more certainty that if they are receiving the NLW (and have not done overtime or received a bonus) they will be able to work for 16 hours a week and still receive Carer’s Allowance.
If she will make it her policy to set up a task group on tackling the impact of poverty on disabled people.
This government is putting disabled people’s views and voices at the heart of everything we do. That is why we have brought forward the Pathways to Work Green Paper and opened a public consultation. This consultation welcomes all views, and we hope that a wide range of voices will respond before it closes on the 30 June 2025. In addition to the consultation itself, we are establishing ‘collaboration committees’ that bring groups of people together for specific work areas and our wider review of the PIP assessment will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience. We are also in the process of establishing the Disability Advisory Panel, which was announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper. It will be a strategic advisory panel consisting of up to 12 disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions.We are listening carefully to the voices of children and families living in poverty, including children with disabilities and special educational needs (SEND). Examples of the engagement we’ve undertaken are events with: Contact, a charity for families with disabled children; ALLFIE, a campaign group focused on including disabled learners in mainstream education; and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation that aims to improve the life opportunities for young people with severe learning disabilities and their families. In April, the Taskforce met with external experts, including disability charities and organisations, to discuss the experiences of disabled children living in poverty.In December 2024, a Lead Minister for Disability was appointed in every government department, to represent the interests of disabled people and champion disability inclusion and accessibility across their department, as they drive forward progress on the government’s manifesto commitments and 5 missions. I am proud to serve as the chair of this group and we meet regularly throughout the year to break down barriers to opportunity for disabled people right across the government’s long-term missions; and fulfil the manifesto commitment to ensure their departments put the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of everything they do.Alongside delivering on our Get Britain Working plan to support people into good jobs and make everyone better off, which is the fastest route out of poverty, we’re increasing the Living Wage, uprating benefits (including the first sustained, above inflation increase to the UC standard allowance) and supporting 700,000 of the poorest families with children by introducing a Fair Repayment Rate on Universal Credit deductions to help low-income households. We have also extended free school meals provision to all children in households on Universal Credit.
If she will make it her policy to introduce a minimum income guarantee for people in receipt of social security.
The Government recognises the importance of the social security safety net and the role Universal Credit has to play in tackling poverty and making work pay. In the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we announced that we will improve the adequacy of the standard allowance with the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced. This increase will be for new and existing customers and will help millions of people. According to the Institute of Fiscal Studies, this is the largest sustained increase in the headline rate of benefit since at least 1980. We recently introduced a new Fair Repayment Rate for Universal Credit customers, reducing the overall deductions cap from 25% to 15% of a customer's standard allowance. This enables approximately 1.2 million of the poorest households to retain on average £420 a year of their award. This increase will be for new and existing customers and will help millions of people with a cash increase of £725 by the end of the Parliament.
How much (a) local housing allowance and (b) housing support was provided to tenants in the private rented sector in each of the last five years.
Information on how much the Department for Work and Pensions spent to support households a) in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) and in receipt of the Local Housing Allowance and b) in the PRS in general is published and the latest statistics can be found at: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2025 - GOV.UK, in the Housing Benefits tab. For real term expenditure on all claimants in receipt of housing support in the PRS this can be found in row 80 of the published statistics. Expenditure on LHA can be calculated by summing rows 75 and 76.
How many and what proportion of people in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment enhanced daily living component were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities in the most recent period for which data is available.
Data on the number and proportion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants with an enhanced daily living component who scored less than four points can be found in table 1 below.The number of people currently on PIP who did not score 4 points in one category in their last assessment should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP in future. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we don’t want constituents to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious. Someone who did not score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment as conditions change over time.After taking account of behavioural changes, the OBR predicts that 9 in 10 of those on PIP daily living at the point any changes come in will still be receiving PIP by the end of the decade.There will be no immediate changes to PIP eligibility. Our intention is that changes will start to come into effect from November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years.We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including ensuring health and care needs are met.We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I will lead. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this. We will provide further details as plans progress.Even with these reforms, the overall number of people on PIP and DLA is expected to rise by 750,000 by the end of this parliament and spending will rise from £23bn in 24/25 to £31bn in 29/30.Table 1: volume and percentage of PIP claimants receiving an enhanced daily living award, who scored less than four points in all daily living activitiesDaily Living AwardVolume of PIP claimants who scored < 4 pointsPercentage of PIP claimants who scored < 4 pointsEnhanced203,00013%Source(s): PIP Administrative DataNotes:Figures are for England and Wales only.Figures are for January 2025 caseload.Figures only include New Claims.Figures include normal claims and exclude claims under Special Rules for End of Life (SREL).Figures are for working aged claimants only.Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1000.Percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.
How many and what proportion of people in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment enhanced daily living component were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities in (a) York Central constituency, (b) City of York Local Authority area and (c) York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority area in the most recent period for which data is available.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab), including an Evidence Pack which contains the maximum points scored on any Daily Living activity by Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants, broken down by Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority. For York Central constituency, 42% of people scored fewer than 4 points at last assessment. As the information is not published in the way you have requested, information on the volume and proportion of PIP claimants who received a standard Daily Living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities, by different geographical breakdowns can be found in Table 1 below. This should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we don’t want constituents to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious. No one will lose access to PIP immediately. The changes, subject to parliamentary approval, would be brought in from November 2026. After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years. Someone who didn’t score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment – not least as many conditions tend to get worse, not better, over time. After taking account of behavioural changes, OBR predicts that 370,000 people who will be receiving PIP at the point of implementation of the four point requirement in November 2026, will have lost their PIP Daily Living entitlement by 2029/30. Of all PIP recipients at the point of implementation, 9 in 10 will not lose PIP during the subsequent 3 years from this change. If the OBR’s behavioural assumptions for England and Wales were applicable to York and North Yorkshire, around one-fifth of current claimants shown in table 1 would no longer receive their daily living component following review. We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result. We also intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress. Even with these reforms, the overall number of people on PIP and DLA is expected to rise by 750,000 by the end of this parliament and spending will rise from £23bn in 24/25 to £31bn in 29/30. Table 1: volume and percentage of PIP claimants who are in receipt of the daily living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities by different geographical breakdownsGeographical breakdownsStandard Daily LivingEnhanced Daily LivingVolume of claimants who scored <4 pointsPercentage of claimants who scored <4 pointsVolume of claimants who scored <4 pointsPercentage of claimants who scored <4 pointsYork Central Parliamentary Constituency1,40083%30012%City of York Local Authority2,20083%40011%York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority10,70085%1,80011%England and Wales1,121,10087%203,00013% Notes:Data is for January 2025 caseload.Volumes are rounded to the nearest 100.Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole percentage.Data includes working aged claimants only.Data includes normal rules claimants only, and excludes special rules for end of life (SREL) claimants as they typically receive maximum or very high scores.Claimants with missing point scores have been excluded from the data.
How many people (a) made an application for Pension Credit and (b) were new claimants of Pension Credit in each of the last 24 months.
On 27 February 2025 we published Pension Credit applications and award statistics. This publication provides application volumes up to 23 February 2025 Pension Credit applications and awards: February 2025 - GOV.UK The next update of the Pension Credit applications and awards data is due to be published on 29 May 2025.All applications received are treated as new claims. Therefore, we do not hold information on details of previous claims applicants may have submitted.Please note, the figures presented are from DWP’s Pension Credit system which has previously been collected for internal departmental operations use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards.
How many and what proportion of people in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment standard daily living component were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities in the most recent period for which data is available.
The proportion of people in receipt of Personal Independence Payment with the Standard Daily Living component who were awarded fewer than four points in all daily living activities is readily available as part of the Pathways to Work Evidence Pack in Chapter 2, table 2.20.(https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper).Table 2.20 shows that, in January 2025, 87% of working aged claimants in England and Wales who were in receipt of the standard daily living component scored less than four points in all daily living activities and 13% of those claiming the enhanced rate.After taking account of behavioural changes, OBR predicts that 370,000 people who will be receiving PIP at the point of implementation of the four point requirement in November 2026, will have lost their PIP Daily Living entitlement by 2029/30. Of all PIP recipients at the point of implementation, 9 in 10 will not lose PIP during the subsequent 3 years from this change. Notes:There will be no immediate changes. Changes to PIP eligibility and rebalancing of UC aren’t coming into effect immediately. Our intention is these changes will start to come into effect from April 2026 for UC and November 2026 for PIP, subject to parliamentary approval.PIP changes will only apply at the next award review after November 2026. The average award review period is about three years. At the award review, claimants will be seen by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstances.We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and eligible care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result.We also intend to launch a wider review of the PIP assessment which I will lead, and we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.
How many and what proportion of people in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment standard daily living component were awarded less than four points in all daily living activities in (a) York Central constituency, (b) City of York Local Authority area and (c) York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority area, in the most recent period for which data is available.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab), including an Evidence Pack which contains the maximum points scored on any Daily Living activity by Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants, broken down by Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority. For York Central constituency, 42% of people scored fewer than 4 points at last assessment. As the information is not published in the way you have requested, information on the volume and proportion of PIP claimants who received a standard Daily Living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities, by different geographical breakdowns can be found in Table 1 below. This should not be equated with the number who are likely to lose PIP. It’s important to make a clear distinction between the two, not least because we don’t want constituents to be unnecessarily fearful about their situation, when we understand many are already anxious. We are clear that we will always protect the most vulnerable. No one will lose access to PIP immediately. The changes, subject to parliamentary approval, would be brought in from November 2026. After that date, no one will lose PIP without first being reassessed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional, who assesses individual needs and circumstance. Reassessments happen on average every 3 years. Someone who didn’t score 4 points in an activity in a previous assessment may well score 4 points in a future assessment – not least as many conditions tend to get worse, not better, over time. After taking account of behavioural changes, the OBR predicts 9 in 10 people who claim PIP in November 2026 will still receive it by the end of Parliament. If the OBR’s behavioural assumptions for England and Wales were applicable to York and North Yorkshire, around one-fifth of current claimants shown in table 1 would no longer receive their daily living component following review. We are consulting on how best to support those who are affected by the new eligibility changes, including how to make sure health and care needs are met. PIP is not based on condition diagnosis but on functional disability as the result of one or more conditions, and is awarded as a contribution to the additional costs which result. We have also announced a wider review of the PIP assessment, to make it fair and fit for purpose, which I will lead. We are bringing together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to to this. We will provide further details as plans progess. Even with these reforms, the overall number of people on PIP and DLA is expected to rise by 750,000 by the end of this parliament and spending will rise from £23bn in 24/25 to £31bn in 29/30. Table 1: volume and percentage of PIP claimants who are in receipt of the standard daily living award rate and scored less than four points in all daily living activities by different geographical breakdownsGeographical breakdownsStandard Daily LivingEnhanced Daily LivingVolume of claimants who scored <4 pointsPercentage of claimants who scored <4 pointsVolume of claimants who scored <4 pointsPercentage of claimants who scored <4 pointsYork Central Parliamentary Constituency1,40083%30012%City of York Local Authority2,20083%40011%York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority10,70085%1,80011%England and Wales1,121,10087%203,00013% Notes:Data is for January 2025 caseload.Volumes are rounded to the nearest 100.Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole percentage.Data includes working aged claimants only.Data includes normal rules claimants only, and excludes special rules for end of life (SREL) claimants as they typically receive maximum or very high scores.Claimants with missing point scores have been excluded from the data.
If she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to help reduce the level of work absence as a result of mental ill health.
My department and I work closely with our counterparts in DHSC on work and health measures, and we have a joint directorate reporting to us that is charged with improving recruitment, retention and the success at work of disabled people and people with long term health conditions.We have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals with mental health conditions to stay in work and get back into work. Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies. The Employment Advice in Talking Therapies programme – which is joint funded by the DWP and Department for Health & Social Care - combines the expertise of therapists and employment advisers to give those with mental health conditions the support they need to find work tailored to them, while Access to Work Mental Health Support Service (MHSS) provides up to 9 months of personalised, non-clinical support for people who need mental health support while in employment. Employers play a key role in increasing employment opportunities and supporting disabled people and people with health conditions to thrive as part of the workforce. Our support to employers includes a digital information service for employers and the Disability Confident scheme.
What steps is she taking to reduce the number of people in (a) relative poverty, (b) absolute poverty and (c) destitution.
This government is committed to tackling poverty. We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so alongside social security this will be the foundation of our approach. The Get Britain Working White Paper, to be set out in the Autumn, will develop measures to reduce inactivity and help people to find better paid and more secure jobs. Alongside this, we have committed to reviewing Universal Credit by listening to the full range of views on potential changes, so that our social security system is fit for purpose.We promised concrete actions in our manifesto to support children and families which is why we announced our Ministerial Taskforce on the 17th July, jointly chaired by the Work and Pensions and Education Secretaries, to begin work on an ambitious Child Poverty Strategy, to reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start in life. The Taskforce will publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025 and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty.We are already taking steps to tackle poverty, including free breakfast clubs in every primary school so children don’t go hungry, protecting renters from arbitrary eviction, slashing fuel poverty and banning exploitative zero hours contracts. As well as this, we announced funding to extend the Household Support Fund in England for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual. As has been done for previous schemes, the Fund is available to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the cost of essentials.
What steps she is taking to help tackle food insecurity; and if she will make an assessment with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of the potential impact of these steps on (a) physical and (b) mental health.
This government is committed to tackling poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels. We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people falling into poverty so this will be the foundation of our approach. The Get Britain Working White Paper, to be set out in the Autumn, will develop measures to reduce inactivity and help people to find better paid and more secure jobs. Alongside this, we have committed to reviewing Universal Credit by listening to the full range of views on potential changes, so that our social security system is fit for purpose. Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The Child Poverty Taskforce, which includes the Department for Health and Social Care, has started urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy in Spring 2025 and will explore all available levers to drive forward short and long-term actions across government to reduce child poverty. We will also take initial steps to tackle poverty by introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, so children don’t go hungry, protecting renters from arbitrary eviction and banning exploitative zero hours contracts. For those most in need, we have extended the Household Support Fund for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual. As has been done for previous schemes, the Fund is available to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to provide discretionary support to those most in need with the cost of essentials. The Fund can be used to provide support with food, energy, water and wider essentials.