Baroness Stedman-Scott: This Government is committed to reducing child poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty.⯠With a record 1.3 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people to move into and progress in work. This approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment - particularly where it is full-time...
Chemicals (Health and Safety) Trade and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2022 – Baroness Stedman-Scott.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: The review process for the UK’s Anticoagulant Rodenticide Stewardship Regime is ongoing. The Government Oversight Group and the industry’s representative body, the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use will meet in November 2022 to discuss the Review and will agree a timetable.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: We anticipate that the BSL Board will be established by late Autumn 2022. Guidance on the promotion and facilitation of British Sign Language will follow.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: The UK Government responded to a request for a reciprocal social security agreement from the Canadian Government in March 2021. The Government has also recently received a letter from the Government of Canada on negotiating a reciprocal social security agreement. The Department for Work and Pensions plans to respond to this request in due course.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is committed to providing the best possible support for all our claimants. We are continuously reviewing and improving the service to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs. Our Work Coaches undergo a comprehensive learning journey designed to equip them with the tools, skills and behaviours required to provide a high quality,...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: The median weekly amount of State Pension paid, by gender, at the end of November 2021 is shown in the below table. These show payments under the two systems: - (i) the basic State Pension (bSP) plus other components such additional State Pension (SERPS and State Second Pension) and Graduated Retirement Benefit, which operated for people who reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016; and...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Faulkner, for bringing to the House this important debate, which I believe he has tried to secure since 2017. I congratulate him on his tenacity. The Government think that it is important to recognise and support the valuable opportunities that young people have through volunteering. I stress that modern health and safety legislation does not...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: I start by echoing many of the tributes paid to the noble Baroness, Lady Gale, for bringing forward this debate, and to all Members who have spoken and contributed to such an all-encompassing discussion. I would also like to pay tribute to those men who have joined us today and made very forthright contributions. It is great that you respect women, and their role and potential in the country....
Baroness Stedman-Scott: Oh, she has changed her mind. Noble Lords are absolutely right that these women are doing a great job. I was at the football on Monday in Brighton. I have never been to a football match in my life. Before I went, my other half said to me, “Please behave. Don’t start shouting out and telling people what to do. You know nothing about football.” I had been there about 10 minutes and I was...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: I thank the noble Baroness for clarifying that and I agree with her. My noble friends Lady Meyer and Lady Eaton raised the issue of the protected characteristic of sex. This is a subject that we shall have to come back to and debate. As I have said, everyone must be free to express what they feel about it, but everyone must be respectful and tolerant when some people have different views from...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Department is not able to specifically match the official error cases to debt recovery figures. However, all overpayments of UC are recoverable, irrespective of how the overpayment arose. The Department did not record waiver requests by overpayment classification prior to February 2021. From February to the end of the 2021, DWP Debt Management received a total of 96 waiver requests in...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: During the Way to Work Campaign between 31 January and the end of 30 June 2022 we estimate that at least 520,400 unemployed Universal Credit claimants and Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) claimants have moved into work. This total figure is composed of our into work measure to the end of May (over 386,000) and our internal management information up to 26 June (58,900). We are now also able to...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: My Lords, our £37 billion cost of living package is particularly focused on low-income households. Children living in families receiving qualifying means-tested benefits will receive the cost of living payment of £650 in two instalments. Households with a domestic electricity bill will receive the £400 energy bill rebate. We require at least a third of the current £421 million household...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: The Government’s position is that we have made money available throughout the cost of living crisis. We are doing extra things for children, such as free school meals and all the other holiday support payments. As it stands at the moment, I am not able to say if we will be doing anything further. As we have always promised, we keep everything under review and respond where we can.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: We are spending over £5 billion for qualifying means-tested benefits, which is around £2 billion more than the additional cost had the qualifying benefits been increased in July 2022 to 9% higher than the previous year. By delivering flat-rate payments at pace we can make transfers to over 8 million people, and 6 million disabled people. The IFS has said that government support means that,...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: The two-child limit on universal credit is the subject of much debate, and much angst for many people. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham has a Private Member’s Bill going through Parliament, and no doubt that will be discussed in full. As I have said before, the Government keep everything under review.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: Of course we agree. All young children should have a good start in life, even if their circumstances vary. I pick up on the point about lone-parent families that the noble Baroness raises. I have received a number of documents from Gingerbread, which is a real advocate for this and does a terrific job. One of the ways in which we can help is to make sure that people who should pay child...
Baroness Stedman-Scott: I think it was said by our previous Chancellor and many others that the Government cannot solve every problem. That does not mean that we reduce our efforts to do so. The £20 uplift was, at the risk of boring everybody, a temporary measure and has been stopped, but we will have the annual uprating of benefits and the Secretary of State will look at it in September this year.
Baroness Stedman-Scott: I have listened to the questions today and there is a real swell of opinion that the payments are not enough—I doubt that we could ever do enough. The package of measures we have provided is designed to target support to those most in need. It will make a real difference and, I am sure, help people through these very difficult times.