The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living this Winter and is taking action to support people with their energy bills. The government’s Energy Price Guarantee, running from October 2022- March 2023, will save a typical British household around £900 this winter, based on what energy price would have been under the current price cap – reducing bills by roughly a third. This is in addition to the over £37bn of cost of living support announced earlier this year which includes the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme.

The £37bn also includes cost of living payments worth up to £650 (paid in 2 lump sums of £326 and £324) which have targeted support at around 8 million low-income households on means-tested benefits. In addition, 6 million eligible disabled people have received a one-off disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 and pensioner households will receive a one-off payment of £300 alongside the Winter Fuel Payment from November.

For those who require additional support the current Household Support Fund, running from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023, is providing £421m of funding for those most in need. The devolved administrations have been allocated £79 million through the Barnett formula.

To ensure stability and certainty for households, in the Autumn Statement the Government has announced £26bn in cost of living support for 2023/24. This includes Cost of Living Payments for the most vulnerable. In 2023/24, households on eligible means-tested benefits will get up to a further £900 in Cost of Living Payments. A £300 payment will be made to pensioner households and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment. Also included is the amended Energy Price Guarantee which will save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24 and raising the benefit cap by 10.1% in line with inflation.

For those who require extra support, the Government is providing an additional £1 billion of funding, including Barnett impact, to enable the extension of the Household Support Fund in England in the next financial year. This is on top of what we have already provided since October 2021, bringing total funding to £2.5 billion. In England this will be delivered through an extension to the Household Support Fund backed by £842 million, running from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024, which local authorities use to help households with the cost of essentials. It will be for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their additional Barnett funding.

In addition, we are uprating benefits for working age households and disabled people, as well as the basic and new State Pensions, all by 10.1%. We are also increasing the National Living Wage by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour from April 2023.

The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living, including disabled people, and has taken further, decisive action to support people with their energy bills. The Energy Price Guarantee is supporting millions of households with rising energy costs, and the Chancellor made clear it will continue to do so from now until April next year. This is in addition to the over £37bn of cost of living support announced earlier this year which includes:

• the £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households provided through the Energy Bills Support Scheme;
• a Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 to six million people in recognition of the extra costs they face, including with energy costs;
• up to £650 in Cost of Living Payments for the eight million households in receipt of a means-tested benefit;
• a one-off payment of £300 through, and as an addition to, the Winter Fuel Payment from November to pensioner households.

This winter over 8 million pensioner households across the UK will receive an increased Winter Fuel Payment of £500/£600 depending on age and this will be paid on top of any other one-off support a pensioner household is entitled to, for example where they are on Pension Credit or receive disability benefits. Eligible households currently receive £200 or £300, so the Winter Fuel payment will represent at least double the support for this winter.

6 million eligible disabled people received a one-off Disability Cost of Living Payment of £150 in September. Pensioners in receipt of an eligible disability benefit will have received this Disability Cost of Living Payment.

Government support for the cost of living now totals over £37 billion this year. This includes a £650 cost of living payment (paid in two payments of £326 and £324) which has been designed to target support at low-income households on means-tested benefits including Pension Credit.

The Government has announced unprecedented support within its Growth Plan to protect households and businesses from high energy prices. The Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bill Relief Scheme are supporting millions of households and businesses with rising energy costs, and the Chancellor made clear they will continue to do so from now until April next year. This applies to all households in Great Britain, with the same level of support made available to households in Northern Ireland.

The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions, and we continue to up-rate it abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so – for example where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating.

People move abroad for many reasons and it is their own choice to do so. There is information available in leaflets and on GOV.UK on how to claim State Pension from overseas and on what the effect of going abroad will be on entitlement to the UK State Pension.

The UK State Pension is payable worldwide to those who meet the qualifying conditions, and we continue to up-rate it abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so – for example where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating.

People move abroad for many reasons and it is their own choice to do so. There is information available in leaflets and on GOV.UK on how to claim State Pension from overseas and on what the effect of going abroad will be on entitlement to the UK State Pension.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stands ready to support anyone affected by this announcement, with our Rapid Response Service (RRS) offer. This is a service designed to give support and advice to employers and their employees when faced with redundancy.

The range of support available from Jobcentre Plus and partners may include:

• Connecting people to jobs in the labour market
• Information, advice and guidance
• Help with job search including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and how to apply for them.
• Help to assess transferable skills in relation to the local labour market by conducting a Skills Transfer Analysis
• Vocational training to address skills needs
• Other RRS funded support to help overcome barriers to getting a job or starting self-employment

In addition, DWP is also working closely with the Department for Transport to implement a unique portal on the Aviation Skills Retention Platform (ASRP) for workers affected by the P&O redundancy. The portal has been designed to directly target individuals affected to provide visibility of jobs in aviation and wider transport sectors. The new portal will provide all registered companies with the opportunity to engage with P&O Ferries workers, highlighting opportunities to the group as a whole, rather than individually, and ensure workers can be approached with a range of opportunities that match their skills.

Information on other Government programmes on retraining such as Department for Educations Skills Bootcamps and Apprenticeships will also be shared with affected P&O employees.

My Lords, the vast majority of veterans are able to make a successful transition to life outside the Armed Forces; 84% of veterans are employed within six months of discharge, and these rates compare very favourably with the wider population, where 76% are in employment. The DWP provides support to veterans in a number of ways, including through the early voluntary entry to the work and health programme, and support from its network of Armed Forces champions.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the support provided by the Department for Work and Pensions to members of the Armed Forces in their transition to civilian life.

My Lords, in 2019 the Government committed up to £6 million to fund more than 100 Armed Forces champions. They are there to provide personnel, veterans and families with specialist support to find work and transition to civilian life, and they are a key part of the Government’s commitment to the Armed Forces covenant. The Minister has now told me in a Written Answer that they now aim to hire only 50 champions and have a record low of just 34 in post. So why have the Government abandoned this commitment to our Armed Forces, and how much of that £6 million has actually been spent?

My Lords, in the UK it is estimated that former Armed Forces personnel are eight times more likely to develop gambling problems than civilians. They suffer from higher rates of mental health issues and alcohol problems, factors which may feed into the higher rate of problem gambling. Will Her Majesty’s Government commit to surveying the gambling habits of serving personnel so that we can better provide for our military as they transition to civilian life?

My Lords, I will not disguise my anger and frustration at the recent refusal of the Government to restore war widows’ pensions to those few ladies who lost it on remarriage. Can my noble friend use her considerable powers of persuasion to find a way forward other than by using the name “pension”, which I understand frightens the life out of the Treasury? Could the widows not receive some form of compensation, hardship payment or the like?

My Lords, can the Minister please tell the House whether the Department for Work and Pensions has carried out any assessment of the usefulness of Armed Forces employment to civilian employers?

Can the noble Baroness say what specific support is provided for families—particularly children—of members of our Armed Forces to enable their transition, given that many of them will have spent time in different schools and different locations and may find it difficult to transition after their families leave the services?

My Lords, it was an enormous honour to serve as the Minister for Veterans, probably the most rewarding job in government. While that is the only ministerial job to have the word “veterans” in its title, it is important to remember that all Ministers have responsibility for veterans. One of the challenges they face is access to information, which is why we created the Veterans’ Gateway. Can my noble friend simply reassure me that her department engages with that portal?

My Lords, I recognise the many challenges faced by the members of the Armed Forces in the transition to civilian life, whether it be need for housing or professional care because of physical or mental incapacity through conflict. Can the Minister assure me that all former members of the Armed Forces are equally provided for across the United Kingdom, including those in Northern Ireland?

My Lords, the Government have a duty of care to look after those who have served and a moral responsibility to pick up the tab. That said, will the Minister say what combat-related trauma support is available to women veterans who are actively seeking employment?

My Lords, Dr Hugh Milroy, the CEO of the exemplary military charity Veterans Aid, tells me that the current resettlement system is out of touch with the cost of living today and that he has seen this cause genuine hardship for people with otherwise good prospects. I was surprised to find that the individual resettlement training costs grant available to all leavers with six or more years’ service and all medical discharges is set at £534. Does my noble friend the Minister agree that it is time to modernise the system by providing access to an innovative financial empowerment model, perhaps like the student loan system?

My Lords, the integrated review envisages cuts to the regular forces of around 10,000. What work has the DWP done, alongside the MoD, to assess the possible implications for service personnel and their families who will be leaving the forces perhaps rather more unexpectedly than envisaged?

The Department is committed to supporting over 50s jobseekers, and a range of special support is available for this group. As part of the 50 plus: choice agenda, we have created a network of 50 PLUS Champions (formerly Older Claimants Champions) throughout all of the 37 Jobcentre Plus districts, who work collaboratively with Work Coaches to raise the profile of over 50s claimants, highlighting the benefits of employing them and sharing best practice.

The Department is also piloting 50+ mentoring circles in England to address any confidence barriers experienced by over 50s claimants and to support them in moving into new jobs, particularly where their sectors have been adversely affected by COVID-19.

More broadly, the Department is supporting people of all ages back in to work through the Plan for Jobs. This provides new funding to ensure more people of all age groups get tailored Jobcentre Plus support to find work, including through building new skills.

The Government also aims to increase Sector based Work Academy programme placements, which provide unemployed participants of all ages with training, work experience and a guaranteed interview for a real job. We are also investing £238m into Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) to offer enhanced support to those who have been made unemployed for three months.

To support the long term unemployed, £2.9 billion is being invested in the Restart Programme, which is due to go live from summer 2021. The Restart Programme will support individuals who have been unemployed for over 12 months through regular, personalised support and coaching.