Baroness Buscombe: The Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 relates to devolved matters therefore it is for the Welsh Government to consider any lessons learnt in respect of Wales.
Baroness Buscombe: My Lords, I thank the noble Baronesses, Lady Janke and Lady Sherlock, for their contributions. I am pleased that the noble Baroness, Lady Janke, is supportive of the statutory instrument. We have been working hard since 2012 to ensure that this system is fairer. It is important that, wherever possible, we encourage both parents to support their children. The noble Baroness, Lady Janke,...
Baroness Buscombe: I would like to take both comments away because those are quite useful questions to ask. Perhaps the noble Baroness and I could pursue them beyond your Lordships’ House, in our continuing to review the system as it is. Thank you. Motion agreed.
Baroness Buscombe: My Lords, these regulations amend child maintenance legislation to enable the delivery of the child maintenance compliance and arrears strategy. The new child maintenance scheme was launched in 2012. It is underpinned by the key principle of encouraging and supporting parents to take responsibility for their children’s upbringing. We know that children have better outcomes when their...
Baroness Buscombe: This information is not currently included on a claimant’s Universal Credit statement. Under Universal Credit there is a structured and simplified approach to deductions from benefit. Claimants can view their Universal credit statement online to see how their award is calculated and a breakdown of what deductions are being made, supporting them to manage their financial obligations.
Baroness Buscombe: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Baroness Janke, for securing this debate, and I thank all those who have contributed on this important issue. I am particularly pleased that the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood, is back in his place. I shall go through this at a bit of a canter because there are a lot of questions and points to cover, so I ask your Lordships to forgive me for talking rather...
Baroness Buscombe: The Reducing Parental Conflict programme was announced in April 2017 as part of Improving Lives: Helping Workless Families. In the financial years 2017/18 and 2018/19, DWP spent approximately £21m on reducing parental conflict. Forecast spend for 2019/20 is £14.11m. Prior to 2017, DWP funded services which provided support for couples to improve their relationships, although these...
Baroness Buscombe: In November 2018, 17 per cent of those in receipt of the State Pension were also in receipt of Pension Credit and / or Housing Benefit.
Baroness Buscombe: My Lords, nothing has changed since I answered exactly the same Question on this issue last week, when it was asked by the noble Baroness, Lady Janke. We have responded fully to the special rapporteur’s recommendations and will continue to reform the welfare system so that it encourages work while supporting those who need help—an approach based on clear evidence that work offers families...
Baroness Buscombe: My Lords, it is right that any Government are held to account for the effectiveness of their approach to tackling poverty, which was always one of our key priorities. While we take every report of this nature incredibly seriously, and recognise that there is more to do—as we always do—we remain disappointed by the overtly political tone of the report and strongly refute the suggestion...
Baroness Buscombe: My noble friend makes a very good point. We are in very good shape in this country and we deliver the fourth most generous level of welfare support in the OECD. We spend more on family benefits than any other country in the G7, and as a share of our GDP, our public spending on family benefits is the second highest in the OECD. We continue to listen and learn, but we are also very proud of...
Baroness Buscombe: I have to tell the noble Baroness that that is not exactly my area, but I will take away what she asked. It is important to say that we are doing all we can to ensure that we are delivering more from our services and continue to increase spending—certainly from the Department for Work and Pensions—to support those in need.
Baroness Buscombe: I am pleased to report that we are looking at that very point at the moment and are about to carry out a pilot for a much easier work capability assessment, which will mean that people do not have to have repeats or assessments for different things. That is something we are taking on board very seriously.
Baroness Buscombe: My Lords, I am not dismissive of the report overall but I am dismissive of the UN rapporteur’s approach, which was very unhelpful. We are doing an awful lot to support children in schools, with breakfast clubs and so on. We are also spending a lot more on family benefits to make sure that children are properly fed. However, we can always do more and we take poverty seriously.
Baroness Buscombe: My Lords, I am extremely grateful to my noble friend for what he says. I have just been at the United Nations in New York, representing Her Majesty’s Government at a disability conference. Time and again, Ministers and commissioners—everyone involved with the UN—said that they do not recognise this report. Much that the United Nations does is brilliant but I am grateful to my noble...
Baroness Buscombe: We plan to commence the Move to UC pilot when the necessary preparations are in place, subject to management checks of readiness. Preparations are proceeding to plan. Stakeholder engagement has been and continues to be a vital part of the work we are doing on Universal Credit. Since last October we have been working closely with a diverse range of stakeholders to listen to their views and to...
Baroness Buscombe: The pensions framework established by Parliament in the Pensions Act 2004 sets out that ongoing employers may address the funding of their scheme deficits over a reasonable period of time. This responsibility falls on the company rather than its owners, other than where The Pensions Regulator has used its anti-avoidance powers. This approach of spreading funding of deficits was established to...
Baroness Buscombe: The best support for a defined benefit pension scheme is an ongoing trading employer. Working with the shareholders, pension trustees and Pension Protection Fund, The Pensions Regulator were pleased to be able to agree a £310m package of support last week that would provide greater certainty for the Arcadia pension schemes. This comprises security to the value of £210m, together with the...
Baroness Buscombe: In November 2018, the number of pensioners aged 75 and over claiming the State Pension and Pension Credit in the Greater Manchester districts can be found in the table below. Pension Credit and State Pension Recipients by district State Pension Pension Credit Bolton 21,321 4,859 Bury 15,189 2,790 Manchester 21,524 8,290 Oldham 16,374 3,746 Rochdale 15,231 3,798...
