Baroness Stedman-Scott: I accept that families are struggling and that some are desperate. We have tried to make the process of giving the money we are giving as simple and unbureaucratic as possible. That is why we are making the payments as we are, starting this week, I think. We hope to have them all done by the end of July.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: On free school meals, children will get what we have already announced. We are not proposing to increase free school meals rates to reflect rising inflation at the moment. They will get their holiday breakfast clubs and the support we have previously announced.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: It is correct that the household support fund has been extended until March 2023. The Government have kept it under review and extended it where possible and appropriate. The guidance for the household support fund is being written, and there will be a heavy emphasis on one-third of that money going to families with children.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: We will have a new Prime Minister and anything could happen with jobs, so I will wait until then—before I get my P45. As soon as I can tell the noble Lord and the whole House what we can do, believe me, I will be the first one here to do so.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: No assessment has been made. DWP staff provide benefit and employment support across Great Britain through our national network of Jobcentres, who work in partnership with a variety of organisations that offer local budgeting and debt advice support. The Government is keen to ensure that everyone accesses the benefits they are entitled to, which is why we have just launched an eligibility...
Draft Occupational Pension Schemes (Governance and Registration) (Amendment) Regulations 2022 – Baroness Stedman-Scott.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: This consultation will end on 18 August, after which analysis of the responses will take a number of weeks, and then regulations needed prior to commencement will be prepared. I would expect commencement of the legislation on or after October 2023, given the time required for the regulations and issue of guidance for landlords, tenants and other involved parties.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: The government set out its ambitions to implement changes to automatic enrolment into workplace pensions in the mid-2020s, consistent with the 2017 Review of Automatic Enrolment, and we will do so as soon as possible. As part of the Review proposals, we committed to reduce the eligibility age for being automatically enrolled from age 22 to 18. Our implementation plans will be informed by...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham for introducing this Bill and for the opportunity to debate again a subject dear to his heart and to those of others in the House. My department is committed to supporting families and helping parents into work. This requires a balanced system that provides strong work incentives and support for those who need it, but also ensures a...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: I think it is fair to say that the Government have a differing view from that of the noble Baroness and people on the Opposition Benches. It is exactly that our helping people to get a better job, if they can, and more income—plus all the support that we are putting through the welfare system—is the policy that the Government are pursuing. We want everybody to be able to find a job,...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: Of course we accept that there are regional variations, which is why, with the levelling-up agenda, we are doing our very best to improve the work opportunities for people in those areas and to support them. That is, again, another policy of this Government that we are actively pursuing. Our support for people out of work is tailored to individual circumstances, recognising the different...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Department is fully committed to supporting vulnerable claimants, including those on ESA during the roll out of Universal Credit. To support this, we have completed an Equality Analysis before restarting managed migration to ensure we are fully compliant with the Public Sector Equality Duty. During the discovery phase we will work with small numbers of existing benefit claimants from...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: The latest available information showing the number of individuals who received the Higher Rate mobility award of Disability Living Allowance, is given in the table below. Number of individuals in receipt of Higher Rate Mobility Award of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) by country, at the end of each quarter, February 2021 to November 2021: Great Britain. Quarter England Wales...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: My Lords, with around 1.3 million vacancies currently available, the Government recognise the importance of filling vacancies in support of business and economic growth. Our approach focuses on how we can best support jobseekers and employers to overcome the barriers to recruitment, retention and progression in their sector. The Way to Work campaign focused on bringing employers and claimants...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: The DWP is running numerous programmes to get people back to work to try to fill those vacancies, because, as the noble Lord said, the lack of workers and skills is not helping the economy. We do have a new Chancellor.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: I know that he is full of ideas, and I am sure we will hear from him very soon.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: I am very pleased to tell the noble Baroness that that is exactly what we are doing. For older workers—those over 50—there is a £22 million fund to boost employment support. I can assure the whole House that we are not looking at people as being idle; we are looking at them as people with potential and the ability to add value to an employer. We are working very carefully with them to...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: Again, I am pleased to respond to that question, because we set a target to have 1 million more disabled people in work between 2017 and 2027. By Q1 2022, we had 1.3 million, so we have smashed the target and are not stopping now. I assure all noble Lords that we are working to get disabled people into work, because they have great skills and employers are taking them very seriously.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: I note the point the noble Baroness makes about shortages in the aviation sector, and there have in fact been problems in road haulage and other sectors. But the Government and the DWP have been working closely with trade bodies and employers to try to work things through. All I can say is that I am sorry we were not quick enough.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: Immigration policy is not in the DWP’s gift. I suggest the noble Lord takes that up with the Home Office, although I am happy to help by diverting his question to the Home Office. The noble Lord is correct about Ukrainian refugees: we have done a lot to get them into the benefits system and get them national insurance numbers. I am pleased to say that a lot of them are highly skilled and...