Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Low-income Families

Tuesday 15 September 2020 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government committed to supporting all groups, including the most vulnerable, during the covid-19 outbreak.
  • Government implemented a package of support measures worth over 9 billion, including the job retention scheme and welfare measures.
  • Stephen Crabb emphasized the need to maintain the increase in universal credit for future planning to protect vulnerable families.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Stephen Crabb Con
Economy Benefits & Welfare
Context

The question arises from concerns about how the government is supporting financially vulnerable groups during the pandemic.

Question

What fiscal steps he is taking to help families on low incomes during the covid-19 outbreak. The Government are committed to all groups in society, including the most vulnerable, facing the challenges caused by covid-19.

Answer from Steve Barclay (Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General)

The Government have put in place an unprecedented package of support, including the job retention scheme, the self-employed income support scheme and a package of welfare measures that the Office for Budget Responsibility estimates to be worth in excess of £9 billion.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Does not specify which fiscal steps are being taken specifically for low-income families or provide concrete details on how the funds are distributed.

How: Under Review, Considering This

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Q2 Stephen Crabb Con
Benefits & Welfare
Context

The question follows from a previous discussion on government support measures and focuses on the continuation of increased universal credit during the pandemic.

Question

Commitment to ensure that the most vulnerable in society are protected through the crisis, with an emphasis on the importance of maintaining the increase in universal credit for future planning. Many more families will rely on it in the months ahead.

Answer from Steve Barclay (Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General)

My right hon. Friend is a passionate champion of this issue. He will have seen from the answer given earlier by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor that the distribution analysis at the time of the summer update illustrated that the measures taken by the Chancellor had protected the poorest households the most as a proportion of income.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Does not confirm plans to maintain increased universal credit but acknowledges its effectiveness in protecting poorer households.

How: Under Review, Considering This

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