Baroness Lister of Burtersett

Statistics on the ethnic group of those who have received a Universal Credit (UC) adverse sanction decision from April 2023 to April 2024, are available in section 4.2 of the latest release of the Benefit Sanction Statistics publication and in table 7.1 on the latest data tables on the GOV.UK website.

However, these statistics are descriptive and as such do not facilitate consideration of disparities. To measure any disparities would require analysis of the sanction rate, which is calculated by dividing the number of claimants undergoing a sanction by the number of UC claimants who are in conditionality regimes where sanctions can be applied, at a point in time.

The level of ethnicity declarations for those claimants included within the sanction rate measure, which would be needed to assess any disparities, has not reached the minimum level of 70% in any month. The Department will continue to monitor the level of ethnicity declarations in relation to the sanction rate with the goal of publishing statistics on sanction rate and ethnicity once the 70% threshold is reached.

No estimates have been published.

While we cannot commit to changing the two child policy at this time, tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. This is why the child poverty taskforce will look at all available levers to reduce child poverty, including social security reforms, before publishing a strategy in Spring 2025.

The taskforce will engage external experts throughout the strategy development process including through a rolling programme of meetings, with sessions built thematically to bring together a broad range of experts on specific topics.

The Government also recognises the importance of capturing the experiences of those living in poverty which is why the taskforce will also draw on findings from wider external engagement events in all regions and nations of the UK. These events will convene a broader range of voices, including bringing in the perspectives of families and children themselves.

The Government has announced funding to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.

An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

As with previous HSF schemes, the Fund will be made available to County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England to provide discretionary support to those most in need.

The HSF scheme guidance and individual Local Authority funding allocations for the forthcoming extension will be announced as soon as possible ahead of the scheme beginning on 1 October 2024.

DWP is conducting an evaluation of the fourth iteration of the Household Support Fund. This includes research with a selection of representative Local Authority case study areas, consisting of interviews with Local Authority officials and their delivery partners, and surveys and interviews with recipients of the HSF. This evaluation will provide key evidence on how Local Authorities are delivering the scheme, and their experiences of doing so, as well as the effectiveness of the funding for recipients.

No assessment has been made.

Our Back to Work Plan will provide further support and help to improve the lives of working people. People who are working and earning money are much less likely to be affected by the benefit cap.

Customers can apply to their local authority to be considered for additional financial support through Discretionary Housing Payments or the Household Support Fund.

The new Ministerial Taskforce will drive cross-government action on child poverty, starting with overseeing the development of our ambitious new strategy in line with the Opportunity Mission.

We will continue to engage with leading organisations, charities, campaigners and parents to shape and inform these plans. After initial engagement, the formal work to develop the new child poverty strategy will begin, and the Taskforce terms of reference will be published in the coming weeks. Recognising the wide-ranging causes of child poverty, we will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government and wider society to drive forward the change our children need.

No recent estimates have been published but external estimates are available. Tacking child poverty is at the heart of this Government's mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Our new Ministerial Taskforce will oversee the development of an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, tackle its root causes, and give every child the best start to life.

The new Ministerial Taskforce will drive cross-government action on child poverty, starting with overseeing the development of our ambitious new strategy in line with the Opportunity Mission.

We will continue to engage with leading organisations, charities, campaigners and parents to shape and inform these plans. After initial engagement, the formal work to develop the new child poverty strategy will begin, and the Taskforce terms of reference will be published in the coming weeks. Recognising the wide-ranging causes of child poverty, we will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government and wider society to drive forward the change our children need.

The new Ministerial Taskforce will drive cross-government action on child poverty, starting with overseeing the development of our ambitious new strategy in line with the Opportunity Mission.

We will continue to engage with leading organisations, charities, campaigners and parents to shape and inform these plans. After initial engagement, the formal work to develop the new child poverty strategy will begin, and the Taskforce terms of reference will be published in the coming weeks. Recognising the wide-ranging causes of child poverty, we will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government and wider society to drive forward the change our children need.

In line with the duties introduced by the Equality Act 2010, the Home Office undertakes an equality impact assessment whenever decisions are taken on policy relating to registering statutory rights to British citizenship. Most recently, equality impact assessments were undertaken when changes were made to Section 3(1) British Nationality Act 1981 and on the introduction of the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

There are various provisions within the British Nationality Act 1981 that allow for children born in the UK to register as British citizens. The Home Office has published clear and easy to follow guidance for applications under each of these sections. Home Office caseworkers are trained to carry out their duties to ensure that those who apply and meet the statutory requirements are granted citizenship.

The Home Office regularly engages with local authorities to support them in ensuring that children in local authority care, who are not already British citizens, can make an appropriate application for registration for citizenship. Children in local authority care are not required to pay an application fee when applying for registration as a British citizen.

In most cases, local authorities have access to the information needed to establish the citizenship rights and apply for registration for children in their care. Where there are evidence gaps, the Home Office will assist any applicant by checking information held in its records to confirm a claim.

Following the implementation of the British Nationality Act 1981, a range of explanatory material was prepared to support those affected by changes made by the Act. This material has been maintained and now forms part of the content of the relevant GOV.UK pages. The Home Office maintains published customer guidance for every British citizenship and nationality route, and also provides a British nationality status confirmation service.

The Home Office regularly engages with local authorities to support them in ensuring that children in local authority care, who are not already British citizens, can make an appropriate application for registration for citizenship. Children in local authority care are not required to pay an application fee when applying for registration as a British citizen.

In most cases, local authorities have access to the information needed to establish the citizenship rights and apply for registration for children in their care. Where there are evidence gaps, the Home Office will assist any applicant by checking information held in its records to confirm a claim.

Following the implementation of the British Nationality Act 1981, a range of explanatory material was prepared to support those affected by changes made by the Act. This material has been maintained and now forms part of the content of the relevant GOV.UK pages. The Home Office maintains published customer guidance for every British citizenship and nationality route, and also provides a British nationality status confirmation service.

The Home Office regularly engages with local authorities to support them in ensuring that children in local authority care, who are not already British citizens, can make an appropriate application for registration for citizenship. Children in local authority care are not required to pay an application fee when applying for registration as a British citizen.

In most cases, local authorities have access to the information needed to establish the citizenship rights and apply for registration for children in their care. Where there are evidence gaps, the Home Office will assist any applicant by checking information held in its records to confirm a claim.

Following the implementation of the British Nationality Act 1981, a range of explanatory material was prepared to support those affected by changes made by the Act. This material has been maintained and now forms part of the content of the relevant GOV.UK pages. The Home Office maintains published customer guidance for every British citizenship and nationality route, and also provides a British nationality status confirmation service.

The government is keeping all existing pathways under review in response to events in Gaza.

As part of our move to a ‘digital by default’ border and immigration system, physical immigration documents are being replaced by fully digital eVisas (an online record of the person’s immigration status).

We understand some customers may feel apprehensive about transitioning to and navigating a digital system. We have already put a range of measures in place to support vulnerable and digitally excluded customers, including Assisted Digital support for account creation; ‘helper’ and ‘proxy’ roles who can assist with specific tasks or manage an account for the customer; and a dedicated contact centre that can help customers to access or recover their account, update their personal details or share immigration status information on their behalf if they are unable to do so.

In addition, we have a dedicated programme of grant funding, which will enable organisations to support vulnerable people, including those experiencing homelessness, to create UKVI accounts and accessing their eVisas. We expect these grant funded organisations to be operational by Autumn. Further details about the organisations will be published on gov.uk in due course.

We are working collaboratively with a range of third-party stakeholders who offer support to people requiring assistance in creating a UKVI account and accessing their eVisa. Information on accessing this support is available on gov.uk.

We will not curtail a person’s permission to stay in the UK if they fail to create a UKVI account before their BRP expires. For many, the end 2024 deadline will have no impact; most people don’t need to prove their immigration status on a day-to-day basis, and many of the checks performed will be unaffected by the expiry of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs). BRP holders will still be able to use the online right to work and rent services to prove their rights once their BRP expires – provided they still have valid status – although we will encourage them to register for a UKVI account to access those services instead. If a customer cannot create an account before their BRP expires at the end of 2024, they will still be able to create a UKVI account quickly and easily after that date, using their expired BRP if needed.

While we are encouraging people who were issued with older forms of evidence of immigration status, such as ink stamps in passports, to transition to eVisas, they will still be able to prove their rights as they do today, using their legacy documents where these are permitted. That will not change at the end of the year.

The No Time Limit (NTL) process is for people with historic (legacy) status who want to upgrade to a modern, digital product and take advantage of its benefits, as well as for those who have lost their BRP or whose BRP has expired. Currently, we give them a BRP at the end of the process, whereas in the future they will be issued an eVisa, which will streamline the process.

Requests for evidence in such cases are an opportunity for the person to show that their leave has not lapsed and are conducted in line with the existing published guidance. We apply a balance of probabilities approach and exercise discretion where appropriate. We will also continue to support customers, especially those who may be vulnerable, including via our Assisted Digital service which is available in the UK to provide individual support by phone and email to individuals who require assistance with IT-related aspects of transitioning to eVisas.

Further information about eVisas and future updates will be available at www.gov.uk/evisa.

As part of our move to a ‘digital by default’ border and immigration system, physical immigration documents are being replaced by fully digital eVisas (an online record of the person’s immigration status).

We understand some customers may feel apprehensive about transitioning to and navigating a digital system. We have already put a range of measures in place to support vulnerable and digitally excluded customers, including Assisted Digital support for account creation; ‘helper’ and ‘proxy’ roles who can assist with specific tasks or manage an account for the customer; and a dedicated contact centre that can help customers to access or recover their account, update their personal details or share immigration status information on their behalf if they are unable to do so.

In addition, we have a dedicated programme of grant funding, which will enable organisations to support vulnerable people, including those experiencing homelessness, to create UKVI accounts and accessing their eVisas. We expect these grant funded organisations to be operational by Autumn. Further details about the organisations will be published on gov.uk in due course.

We are working collaboratively with a range of third-party stakeholders who offer support to people requiring assistance in creating a UKVI account and accessing their eVisa. Information on accessing this support is available on gov.uk.

We will not curtail a person’s permission to stay in the UK if they fail to create a UKVI account before their BRP expires. For many, the end 2024 deadline will have no impact; most people don’t need to prove their immigration status on a day-to-day basis, and many of the checks performed will be unaffected by the expiry of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs). BRP holders will still be able to use the online right to work and rent services to prove their rights once their BRP expires – provided they still have valid status – although we will encourage them to register for a UKVI account to access those services instead. If a customer cannot create an account before their BRP expires at the end of 2024, they will still be able to create a UKVI account quickly and easily after that date, using their expired BRP if needed.

While we are encouraging people who were issued with older forms of evidence of immigration status, such as ink stamps in passports, to transition to eVisas, they will still be able to prove their rights as they do today, using their legacy documents where these are permitted. That will not change at the end of the year.

The No Time Limit (NTL) process is for people with historic (legacy) status who want to upgrade to a modern, digital product and take advantage of its benefits, as well as for those who have lost their BRP or whose BRP has expired. Currently, we give them a BRP at the end of the process, whereas in the future they will be issued an eVisa, which will streamline the process.

Requests for evidence in such cases are an opportunity for the person to show that their leave has not lapsed and are conducted in line with the existing published guidance. We apply a balance of probabilities approach and exercise discretion where appropriate. We will also continue to support customers, especially those who may be vulnerable, including via our Assisted Digital service which is available in the UK to provide individual support by phone and email to individuals who require assistance with IT-related aspects of transitioning to eVisas.

Further information about eVisas and future updates will be available at www.gov.uk/evisa.

As part of our move to a ‘digital by default’ border and immigration system, physical immigration documents are being replaced by fully digital eVisas (an online record of the person’s immigration status).

We understand some customers may feel apprehensive about transitioning to and navigating a digital system. We have already put a range of measures in place to support vulnerable and digitally excluded customers, including Assisted Digital support for account creation; ‘helper’ and ‘proxy’ roles who can assist with specific tasks or manage an account for the customer; and a dedicated contact centre that can help customers to access or recover their account, update their personal details or share immigration status information on their behalf if they are unable to do so.

In addition, we have a dedicated programme of grant funding, which will enable organisations to support vulnerable people, including those experiencing homelessness, to create UKVI accounts and accessing their eVisas. We expect these grant funded organisations to be operational by Autumn. Further details about the organisations will be published on gov.uk in due course.

We are working collaboratively with a range of third-party stakeholders who offer support to people requiring assistance in creating a UKVI account and accessing their eVisa. Information on accessing this support is available on gov.uk.

We will not curtail a person’s permission to stay in the UK if they fail to create a UKVI account before their BRP expires. For many, the end 2024 deadline will have no impact; most people don’t need to prove their immigration status on a day-to-day basis, and many of the checks performed will be unaffected by the expiry of Biometric Residence Permits (BRPs). BRP holders will still be able to use the online right to work and rent services to prove their rights once their BRP expires – provided they still have valid status – although we will encourage them to register for a UKVI account to access those services instead. If a customer cannot create an account before their BRP expires at the end of 2024, they will still be able to create a UKVI account quickly and easily after that date, using their expired BRP if needed.

While we are encouraging people who were issued with older forms of evidence of immigration status, such as ink stamps in passports, to transition to eVisas, they will still be able to prove their rights as they do today, using their legacy documents where these are permitted. That will not change at the end of the year.

The No Time Limit (NTL) process is for people with historic (legacy) status who want to upgrade to a modern, digital product and take advantage of its benefits, as well as for those who have lost their BRP or whose BRP has expired. Currently, we give them a BRP at the end of the process, whereas in the future they will be issued an eVisa, which will streamline the process.

Requests for evidence in such cases are an opportunity for the person to show that their leave has not lapsed and are conducted in line with the existing published guidance. We apply a balance of probabilities approach and exercise discretion where appropriate. We will also continue to support customers, especially those who may be vulnerable, including via our Assisted Digital service which is available in the UK to provide individual support by phone and email to individuals who require assistance with IT-related aspects of transitioning to eVisas.

Further information about eVisas and future updates will be available at www.gov.uk/evisa.

During the testing phase of the eVisa transition, the Home Office, under the previous administration, started emailing BRP holders directly in April 2024 with instructions on how to create a UKVI account to access their eVisa. This included sending anonymised invitations based on available contact email addresses.

We are now looking to start using other communication methods, such as text messages. As contact details may get out of date, we plan a wider external communications campaign to reach key stakeholders such as employers, landlords and education establishments. This will include the development of a range of communications materials, routine updates on GOV.UK and extensive engagement with relevant stakeholders, in addition to direct messaging to those affected. The number of people who have created UKVI accounts to access their eVisas is changing rapidly, with a large number of customers already having created their UKVI accounts successfully.

An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was completed on the first phase of the roll out of eVisas to EEA nationals on 9 November 2020, which built on the Policy Equality Statement (PES) for the EUSS which was produced in 2017 and published on the gov.uk website on 18 November 2020:

Policy equality statement: EU Settlement Scheme (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

We are also in the process of reviewing our eVisas EIA, setting out further analysis of the equalities issues in relation to the proposed prioritisation plan for roll out of eVisas and ceasing to issue physical documents. We plan to publish an up-to-date version of this EIA on gov.uk in a due course.

The Government is determined to restore order to the immigration system so that it operates swiftly, firmly, and fairly.

We remain committed to engaging with local authorities and key stakeholders as we continue to identify a range of options to help those integrating into our communities.

The new Home Secretary will decide on the future of current Home Office policies and announcements will be made to Parliament in due course.