Recommendations & Conclusions
11 items
1
Conclusion
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Acknowledged
The Committee welcomes the Government’s swift action and range of measures introduced in response to the cost of living crisis. It is clear that these will offset some of the increased costs for households living in poverty. However, we have heard very concerning evidence about the impact of the crisis …
Government response. The government acknowledges the impact of the cost of living crisis on specific vulnerable groups and describes its communication efforts to ensure people receive their full benefit entitlements, including the Help for Households campaign and a dedicated online hub.
Department for Work and Pensions
2
Recommendation
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Accepted
We recommend that the Department for Work and Pensions engage with the organisations mentioned throughout this report to assess what further or more direct support needs to be provided to any of these groups as the cost of living continues to rise. We also urge the Government to simplify the …
Government response. The Department says it already works hard to ensure that people are in receipt of their full entitlement and communicates with the public about benefits through various channels, including paid advertising, stakeholder and employer engagement, and campaigns. They also say …
Department for Work and Pensions
3
Recommendation
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Rejected
We welcome the inclusion of those on legacy benefits in the Government’s support measures. We recognise that there are logistical difficulties in getting the necessary support in place quickly, but the Government does not seem to have taken on board our previous recommendations to improve systems. While we understand that …
Government response. The government says one-off payments are the quickest way to deliver support given the current cost-of-living situation. There is no commitment to prioritising other options like more responsive benefit uprating in the future.
Department for Work and Pensions
4
Conclusion
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Rejected
The systems that legacy benefits run on are not fit for purpose. It is disappointing that the Department has not adapted its IT systems to allow for flexibility in uprating these benefits to respond to national events. The Department has scheduled and then delayed the migration of claimants from legacy …
Government response. The government rejects making IT changes to uprate legacy benefits because working-age legacy benefits are closing and those legacy claimants will be moved to UC by 2024. They also have no plans to change the up-rating period.
Department for Work and Pensions
5
Recommendation
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Rejected
While an annual uprating is workable and effective at times of stable inflation, it is not appropriate in more volatile economic circumstances and is causing people real hardship. In the medium-term the Department should reduce the length of time between the inflation reference period and the uprating implementation date to …
Government response. The government will not reduce the length of time between the inflation reference period and the uprating implementation date because it is using one-off payments instead and there are IT limitations. They will continue using a consistent period for up-rating …
Department for Work and Pensions
6
Recommendation
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Accepted
Whilst £1.5 billion for the Household Support Fund is welcome, we are concerned that there is no information available to indicate where this funding is going, The cost of living 37 and whether or not it is supporting the most vulnerable households effectively. Discretionary funding should not replace core funding. …
Government response. The government states that they are clear that Local Authorities are best placed to decide how best to support local people in need, within the clear expectations set out in the Household Support Fund guidance and they have published the …
Department for Work and Pensions
7
Recommendation
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Rejected
The Housing Support Fund was designed to be a short-term measure but is now in its third funding cycle. While we all hope to see far more stability in the economy in coming years, the need for such funds highlights that benefits are already set at subsistence levels for most, …
Government response. The Government does not intend to conduct a specific review into the adequacy of benefit levels, stating there is no objective way of deciding what an adequate level of benefit should be.
Department for Work and Pensions
8
Recommendation
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Acknowledged
The reset of Local Housing Allowance to cover the 30th percentile of rents was a welcome intervention at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the increase has since been eroded by rising housing costs. Some parts of the country are experiencing acute shortages of affordable housing, and we have …
Government response. The government describes measures to improve access to home ownership and states that LHA rates are not intended to cover all rents in all areas and are forecast to continue at their current level through to 2025-26, but this will …
Department for Work and Pensions
9
Recommendation
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Acknowledged
We welcome the decision by the Government to exempt the cost of living payments from the benefit cap so that those most in need of support can receive it. This decision suggests, however, that the Department knows that the cap is set too low to effectively cover households’ now spiralling …
Government response. The government acknowledges the recommendation for reviewing the benefit cap and states that the Secretary of State is reviewing further advice on this.
Department for Work and Pensions
10
Recommendation
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Rejected
Deductions from the Department are contributing to hardship for struggling households, who are already trying to tackle rising costs. We have heard that for some, deductions are pushing them into destitution and leading them to depend on food banks. The Government has urged creditors to accept reduced monthly payments or …
Government response. The government does not believe pausing deductions by default is in the claimant’s best interest, as the impact of any future benefit uprating would clearly be diminished if it coincided with the re-introduction of any paused deductions. However, DWP will …
Department for Work and Pensions
11
Recommendation
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Rejected
Pension Credit provides vital support for pensioners, yet some 850,000 eligible households do not claim it. The rising cost of living means this must now be urgently addressed. The Government’s efforts are focused on a communications campaign. The Committee heard, however, that this was unlikely to be enough. We recommend …
Government response. The government does not consider that a written strategy or targets for take-up of Pension Credit are required, given the work it is already doing and that automatic awarding is not possible based on current data.
Department for Work and Pensions