The Department is monitoring all new claims to Universal Credit to identify where the claimant is a former employee of Thomas Cook so that they quickly receive the right level of support.

For claimants who require urgent financial support, new claim advances provide access to a payment quickly, until the first regular Universal Credit payment is due. Claimants can access up to 100% of the total expected monthly award, which they can pay back over a period of up to 12 months.

From April 2019 Citizens Advice (England and Wales) and Citizens Advice Scotland are delivering ‘Help to Claim’ support to claimants making a new Universal Credit claim. Help to Claim have offered locally tailored support to former Thomas Cook employees in need of assistance face to face, and through prioritised telephony and web-chat channels.

Where we have seen an increase in demand, additional staff have been deployed from neighbouring offices on a temporary basis.

The Department is offering a range of support to anyone affected by the closure of Thomas Cook, through our Rapid Response Service (RRS) and wider DWP services. This is a redundancy service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy. It is coordinated nationally by the National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus.

The RRS has been mobilised to help people find a new job as soon as possible by offering tailored support. Each Jobcentre Plus district deploy resources according to the situation and the requirements of the workforce. The RRS is delivered in partnership with a range of national and local partners, including National Careers Service and local service providers.

We are carefully considering the European Court of Human Rights Judgment in the case of A.

We welcome the decision in the case of JD which confirmed in this case that the application of the RSRS policy was not discriminatory.

The Department’s profile of spending on childcare in Universal Credit is shown in the table below. As the volume of claimants with children on legacy benefits decreases as they move to Universal Credit, spending on childcare will increase accordingly.

Notes:

1. The figures in the table above are derived from internal DWP models, and costs have been rounded to the nearest £100 million.

The profile of spending on the Childcare Element of Universal Credit in 2018/19 was £100 million¹. As the volume of claimants with children on legacy benefits decreases as they move to Universal Credit, spending on childcare will increase accordingly.

Spending on child-related benefits administered by HMRC are shown in the table below.

Notes:

1. The Universal Credit spending is derived from internal DWP models, and costs have been rounded to the nearest £100 million.
2. Total Child Tax Credits comes from HMRC 2018-19 Annual Report and Accounts. This is reduced by an estimate of the value that relates to the childcare element which is subject to a degree of uncertainty.
3. From HMRC Receipts statistics.

Automatic Enrolment into workplace pensions is working. It has transformed pension saving for millions of today’s workers. It has reversed the decline in workplace pension saving seen in the decade prior to its introduction. Since automatic enrolment started in 2012, workplace participation has increased among eligible employees from a low of 55 per cent in 2012 to 87 per cent in 2018. The Government has put in place a robust, proportionate compliance framework. This is administered by The Pensions Regulator, and includes detailed regulatory guidance about how to comply with the law. An employer is required to select a qualifying pension scheme; enrol qualifying staff into that scheme, and deduct any contributions payable under Automatic Enrolment.

The Pensions Regulator’s priorities are contained in their corporate plan 2019-22 and include; providing clarity, enforcing the high standards of trusteeship, governance and administration they expect.

Qualifying pension schemes for Automatic Enrolment are subject to the regulatory framework overseen by The Pensions Regulator in respect of payment and accuracy of contributions. The Regulator has published codes of practice on its website setting out how trustees of defined contribution pension schemes and managers of personal pension schemes should monitor the payment of contributions; provide information to help members check their contributions; and report material payment failures to the Regulator.

The regulatory regime is designed so that errors can be identified and material failures can be reported, the Regulator can then require restitution; and, where necessary, make use of its enforcement powers. The Government keeps all aspects of automatic enrolment under regular review but has no plans to make changes to the compliance framework at this time.

Our statutory child maintenance scheme calculates payments simply and efficiently, usually based on the paying parent’s gross taxable income. This information is taken directly from HM Revenue and Customs for the latest available tax year.

We continue to review the calculation but have no plans to change it at this time.

In each of the last 10 years, the table below shows the number of incidents, or concerns followed up, the Health and Safety Executive has investigated regarding the health and safety of children on farms:

Children visiting farms, and those that live on the farm, are protected by the general duties of Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HSWA). The HSWA requires employers and the self-employed to conduct their undertaking to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in their employment are not exposed to risks to their health and safety.

In addition to the general duties of HSWA, the Prevention of Accidents to Children in Agriculture Regulations 1998 place specific duties on any person in respect of protecting the health and safety of children on farms from the risks of riding on or driving certain farm vehicles.

Guidance for employers and the self-employed can be found in the leaflet ‘Preventing accidents to children on farms’. A copy is attached.

The Department’s contract with Post Office Limited for the Post Office Card Account is due to end November 2021. Plans are underway for a replacement service.

The replacement service will ensure that customers who remain unable to open or manage a standard bank account, are provided with a payment mechanism to receive their payment of pension or benefit from Department, over the counter, in their local area. Commercial arrangements are underway, to invite potential suppliers to tender for the contract, via competitive tender later this year.

There is no estimate of the number of legally recognised polygamous marriages in the United Kingdom. The Government believe the numbers of legally recognised polygamous marriages to be very low and declining. This is because, since the Immigration Act 1988, it has not been possible for people polygamously married overseas to bring second spouses to the United Kingdom.

No one can contract a polygamous marriage in the UK, but marriage legislation recognises the validity of polygamous marriages entered into in a country where polygamy was legal when the parties concerned were domiciled there. Social security legislation adopts a similar approach to avoid anomalous results (such as treating polygamous households more favourably than monogamous ones).

Information concerning: a) the volume of polygamous households estimated to be affected by the move to Universal Credit, and b) how many polygamous households receiving income-related state benefits is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

In Universal Credit, the process is that the one spouse will claim for the other in the same way as an unmarried couple, and any other adults living in the household will have to claim as single people on the basis of their own circumstances. This process already happens where a polygamous marriage is not recognised in law.

Legacy income-related benefits provide for polygamous marriages only where the marriage was contracted in a country where polygamy was legal when the parties concerned were domiciled there. Provision is at the lowest level consistent with our human rights obligations. These rules have been in place since the introduction of Income Support in 1988.

Income-related benefits are not payable for spouses who do not reside in Great Britain.

There is no estimate of the number of legally recognised polygamous marriages in the United Kingdom. The Government believe the numbers of legally recognised polygamous marriages to be very low and declining. This is because, since the Immigration Act 1988, it has not been possible for people polygamously married overseas to bring second spouses to the United Kingdom.

No one can contract a polygamous marriage in the UK, but marriage legislation recognises the validity of polygamous marriages entered into in a country where polygamy was legal when the parties concerned were domiciled there. Social security legislation adopts a similar approach to avoid anomalous results (such as treating polygamous households more favourably than monogamous ones).

Information concerning: a) the volume of polygamous households estimated to be affected by the move to Universal Credit, and b) how many polygamous households receiving income-related state benefits is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

In Universal Credit, the process is that the one spouse will claim for the other in the same way as an unmarried couple, and any other adults living in the household will have to claim as single people on the basis of their own circumstances. This process already happens where a polygamous marriage is not recognised in law.

Legacy income-related benefits provide for polygamous marriages only where the marriage was contracted in a country where polygamy was legal when the parties concerned were domiciled there. Provision is at the lowest level consistent with our human rights obligations. These rules have been in place since the introduction of Income Support in 1988.

Income-related benefits are not payable for spouses who do not reside in Great Britain.

There is no estimate of the number of legally recognised polygamous marriages in the United Kingdom. The Government believe the numbers of legally recognised polygamous marriages to be very low and declining. This is because, since the Immigration Act 1988, it has not been possible for people polygamously married overseas to bring second spouses to the United Kingdom.

No one can contract a polygamous marriage in the UK, but marriage legislation recognises the validity of polygamous marriages entered into in a country where polygamy was legal when the parties concerned were domiciled there. Social security legislation adopts a similar approach to avoid anomalous results (such as treating polygamous households more favourably than monogamous ones).

Information concerning: a) the volume of polygamous households estimated to be affected by the move to Universal Credit, and b) how many polygamous households receiving income-related state benefits is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

In Universal Credit, the process is that the one spouse will claim for the other in the same way as an unmarried couple, and any other adults living in the household will have to claim as single people on the basis of their own circumstances. This process already happens where a polygamous marriage is not recognised in law.

Legacy income-related benefits provide for polygamous marriages only where the marriage was contracted in a country where polygamy was legal when the parties concerned were domiciled there. Provision is at the lowest level consistent with our human rights obligations. These rules have been in place since the introduction of Income Support in 1988.

Income-related benefits are not payable for spouses who do not reside in Great Britain.

The Government has been clear that leaving the EU with a deal is its preferred option.

The Government has put in place contingency plans for a range of exit scenarios. These contingencies ensure that the Department can continue to provide our vital services and that individuals will continue to be able to access benefits and services on the same basis as they do now.

The Government is committed to providing a strong safety-net through the welfare system. We continue to spend over £95 billion a year on benefits for people of working age. The Department continues to monitor the effects of EU exit on the economy. Rates of benefits continue to be reviewed in line with the relevant legislation for uprating.

The Government has been clear that leaving the EU with a deal is its preferred option.

The Government has put in place contingency plans for a range of exit scenarios. These contingencies ensure that the Department can continue to provide our vital services and that individuals will continue to be able to access benefits and services on the same basis as they do now.

The Government is committed to providing a strong safety-net through the welfare system. We continue to spend over £95 billion a year on benefits for people of working age. The Department continues to monitor the effects of EU exit on the economy. Rates of benefits continue to be reviewed in line with the relevant legislation for uprating.

Tabled by

Lord Bird

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the interests of future generations are taken into account at every level of government policy-making and, if so, how.

My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister, who has vast experience in this area. But I ask whether the Government recognise that the budgetary cuts year on year on year have resulted in a marked reduction in family support and preventive services, especially for young people. Does she accept that there is a great deal of catching up to be done, which must involve the contribution of every government department, as is happening in Wales? How will the Government ensure that every department plays a part in this?

My Lords, the Minister referred to The Green Book as being the means by which the Government decide how to adjudicate between the interests of different generations. But The Green Book, which is a Treasury document, sets out the tool

for analysing or comparing policy objectives using things like net present social value or social time preference rates; you can work out how to judge those transfers. Will the Government publish the results of those analyses in the impact assessment along with everything else? More importantly, the young people I saw in Durham on the climate strike were convinced that we are not prioritising their interests. What tools can the Government use to assess damage done to the climate and to the planet—although, of course, there is no planet against which we can compare it?

My Lords, does the Minister accept that this Question has accountability to this and future generations at its core? Is there anybody in No. 10 who has any respect for our constitution and parliamentary democracy, let alone has made any assessment of the importance of our history in this respect? My ancestor, Jonathan Trelawny, was one of the seven bishops who defied James II’s royal prerogative and then precipitated the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Does the noble Baroness accept that the Executive are answerable and accountable to Parliament, not the other way around? Has that not been the central, core constitutional principle for 330 years? As this is such a minority Government—

My Lords, we have all heard about the bank of mum and dad, but in considering the future of social care policy is my noble friend aware that we will rapidly move to the bank of son and daughter? When can we expect the Government

to produce a response to the committee of this House’s report on social care, or indeed the long-promised Green Paper?

My Lords, when the Government are criticised over the lack of music in schools and on syllabuses, they point to the success of the music hubs. I salute that success, but these hubs are now financially at risk, with future funding not confirmed even for next year. Will the Minister confirm that funding will continue, and increase to cover inflation and increased costs, thus preventing the legs being cut from under music education in this country and, indeed, the Government’s own flagship?