Select committee: Work and Pensions Committee
Conclusion 17
First Report: DWP's response to the coronavirus outbreak
Published 22 Jun 2020
Paragraph 102
Addressed to Department for Work and Pensions
Work and Pensions Committee DWP's response to the coronavirus outbreak All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The Chancellor’s decision to increase Universal Credit payments by £20 a week and to increase LHA rates to the 30th percentile of local market rates is very welcome. But some households will not be able to benefit from these increases. This is because, as a result of the uplifts, they will be hit by the benefit cap. The Child Poverty Action Group Estimates that some 12,500 more families will be affected by the benefit cap because of the increase in the standard allowance, and many more because of the increase in LHA. This comes at a time where many households are seeing increases in costs and decreases in income, and at which opportunities to avoid the cap—by moving house, increasing hours of work or starting a new job—are severely limited by the pandemic.
From: Work and Pensions Committee, First Report: DWP's response to the coronavirus outbreak (HC 178), paragraph 102, 22 June 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 8 September 2020.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out DWP's actions on the Committee's recommendations, committing to some further work on health assessments, terminal illness guidance and publishing evidence on the self-employed, while giving reasons for not changing other policies.
- On legacy benefits, DWP has "no plans to increase these benefits further at this stage", and says rates will be reviewed in the autumn up-rating exercise for April 2021.
- On audio recording of assessments, the government says it is "currently developing an approach" for telephone PIP assessments and Work Capability Assessments, without stating a date.
- On health and safety inspections, it says a "new rigid numerical target system would hamper the effectiveness and flexibility of operations" and that HSE uses a risk based, intelligence led approach.
- On the Employment Bill, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy "will bring forward detailed proposals on legislation in due course"; DWP "will look to publish evidence on the self-employed".