The cost of living

Work and Pensions Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 13 Jan 2022 Closed: 17 Apr 2023 Parliament page
The Committee has held oral evidence sessions on the cost of living in February and March 2022. It is now seeking written evidence on how the Government can support people on Universal Credit, legacy benefits and the state pension through the next year. Read the call for evidence to learn … Read more
9 Recommendations
2 Conclusions
1 Report
2 Oral sessions
3 Letters
2 Events
Activity timeline 9 events
21 Sep
2022
Correspondence
8 Sep
2022
Report published
27 Jul
2022
Report published
20 Jul
2022
Correspondence
30 Mar
2022
Correspondence
9 Mar
2022
Oral evidence
9 Mar
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
9 Feb
2022
Oral evidence
9 Feb
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 2 sessions
9 Mar 2022
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Work and Pensions Committee
Aveek Bhattacharya · Social Market Foundation Jack Monroe James Heywood · Centre for Policy Studies Julian Jessop Mike Brewer · Resolution Foundation Morgan Vine · Independent Age Peter Smith · National Energy Action
9 Feb 2022
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Work and Pensions Committee
Morgan Wild · Citizens Advice Peter Matejic · Joseph Rowntree Foundation Robert Joyce · Institute for Fiscal Studies Rory Weal · Trussell Trust Rt Hon Thérèse Coffey MP · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Second Report - The Cost of Living HC 129 27 Jul 2022 11 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
11 results
1 Conclusion Acknowledged
Second Report - The Cost of Living
The Committee welcomes the Government’s swift action and range of measures introduced in response to...
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 … Read more
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
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2 Recommendation Accepted
Second Report - The Cost of Living
We recommend that the Department for Work and Pensions engage with the organisations mentioned throughout...
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 … Read more
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 they are providing extra financial help to the most vulnerable people, including the £650 cost of living payment.
Department for Work and Pensions
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3 Recommendation Rejected
Second Report - The Cost of Living
We welcome the inclusion of those on legacy benefits in the Government’s support measures.
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 … Read more
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
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4 Conclusion Rejected
Second Report - The Cost of Living
The systems that legacy benefits run on are not fit for purpose.
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 … Read more
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
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5 Recommendation Rejected
Second Report - The Cost of Living
While an annual uprating is workable and effective at times of stable inflation, it is...
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 … Read more
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 as it evens out peaks and troughs over time.
Department for Work and Pensions
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6 Recommendation Accepted
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Whilst £1.5 billion for the Household Support Fund is welcome, we are concerned that there...
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 … Read more
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 Management Information (MI) for all completed discretionary schemes.
Department for Work and Pensions
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7 Recommendation Rejected
Second Report - The Cost of Living
The Housing Support Fund was designed to be a short-term measure but is now in...
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 … Read more
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
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8 Recommendation Acknowledged
Second Report - The Cost of Living
The reset of Local Housing Allowance to cover the 30th percentile of rents was a...
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 … Read more
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 be reviewed annually.
Department for Work and Pensions
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9 Recommendation Acknowledged
Second Report - The Cost of Living
We welcome the decision by the Government to exempt the cost of living payments from...
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 … Read more
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
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10 Recommendation Rejected
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Deductions from the Department are contributing to hardship for struggling households, who are already trying...
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 … Read more
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 work with claimants to review their financial circumstances and consider a temporary reduction in their rate of repayment and refreshed guidance will be provided to UC agents.
Department for Work and Pensions
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11 Recommendation Rejected
Second Report - The Cost of Living
Pension Credit provides vital support for pensioners, yet some 850,000 eligible households do not claim...
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, … Read more
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
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Government Response AI assessment · 11 of 9 classified
Accepted 2
Acknowledged 3
Rejected 6
Total 9 recs + 2 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
21 Sep 2022 Correspondence with the Secretary of State - 21.9.22
Parliament page
20 Jul 2022 Correspondence with Prime Minister and Minister for Welfare Delivery about the cost of living
Parliament page
30 Mar 2022 Correspondence to the Pensions Minister about Pension Credit
Parliament page