Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Covid-19: Disabled People and Legacy Benefits

Wednesday 25 November 2020 · 3 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 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial support for disabled people on legacy benefits includes a 1.7% annual uplift.
  • Changes to local housing allowance and increases in discretionary housing support have also been implemented.
  • The government anticipates a nearly 5% rise in spending on disability benefits this year.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Patrick Grady SNP
Benefits & Welfare Women & Equalities
Context

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has shown that nearly half of people in poverty in the UK are either themselves disabled or live in a household with someone who is. The inequalities faced by disabled people have been exacerbated by the pandemic and the decision not to extend the £20 uplift to legacy benefits.

Question

What steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of support for disabled people on legacy benefits during the covid-19 outbreak? I wonder whether he is aware that nearly half of people in poverty in the UK are either themselves disabled or live in a household with someone who is. The inequalities faced by disabled people have been exacerbated, and those not on universal credit will not benefit from the uplift of £20 applied to UC. Has an equalities impact assessment been carried out on this decision?

Answer from Justin Tomlinson

Those on legacy benefits have benefited from a 1.7% uplift as part of annual upratings and may also have benefitted from changes to local housing allowance, increases in discretionary housing support, various employment support schemes, and additional discretionary support administered via local authorities. This year alone expenditure on disability benefits is expected to increase by nearly 5%. The government anticipates spending on disability benefits to rise significantly.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide an answer regarding whether an equalities impact assessment has been carried out on the decision not to extend the £20 uplift to legacy benefits.

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Q2 Patrick Grady SNP
Benefits & Welfare Women & Equalities
Context

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has shown that nearly half of people in poverty in the UK are either themselves disabled or live in a household with someone who is. The inequalities faced by disabled people have been exacerbated, and those not on universal credit will not benefit from the uplift of £20 applied to UC.

Question

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has shown that nearly half of people in poverty in the UK are either themselves disabled or live in a household with someone who is. The inequalities faced by disabled people have been exacerbated, and those not on universal credit will not benefit from the uplift of £20 applied to UC. Has an equalities impact assessment been carried out on this decision?

Answer from Justin Tomlinson

Those on legacy benefits have benefited from a 1.7% uplift as part of annual upratings and may also have benefitted from changes to local housing allowance, increases in discretionary housing support, various employment support schemes, and additional discretionary support administered via local authorities. This year alone expenditure on disability benefits is expected to increase by nearly 5%. The government anticipates spending on disability benefits to rise significantly.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide an answer regarding whether an equalities impact assessment has been carried out on the decision not to extend the £20 uplift to legacy benefits.

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Q3 Anne McLaughlin SNP
Scotland Benefits & Welfare
Context

A petition from the Disability Benefits Consortium, with over 119,000 signatures, was handed to the Chancellor last week calling for the £20 uplift. People with disabilities face significantly higher costs due to the pandemic.

Question

Why have my Scottish National party colleagues and I repeatedly called for this £20 uplift because it is essential that people with disabilities are not ignored during the COVID-19 crisis, as they incur significantly more expenses than most others. The petition had over 119,000 signatures and was handed to the Chancellor last week. Did he ask the Chancellor to implement this in today's spending review?

Answer from Justin Tomlinson

We anticipate expenditure on disability benefits to increase by nearly 5% this year alone. We are also expecting an overall rise in spending of close to £20 billion for targeted support for those most in need.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Did not provide an answer regarding whether the Minister asked the Chancellor to extend the £20 uplift during the spending review or what specific requests were made.

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