Saving for the Future
(Meon Valley) (Con)
1. What steps his Department is taking to help people save for
the future. (901321)
(North Warwickshire)
(Con)
10. What steps his Department is taking to help people save for
the future.(901330)
(Bracknell) (Con)
19. What steps his Department is taking to help people save for
the future.(901340)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ()
Automatic enrolment has succeeded in transforming pension
savings, with more than 11 million employees being automatically
enrolled in a workplace pension since 2012 and an additional £29
billion in real terms saved into marketplace pensions in 2022
compared with 2012.
Mrs Drummond
I was very pleased when the Government brought in auto-enrolment
for pensions in 2012, as making sure that everyone saves for a
pension should prevent pension poverty. What is the rate of
take-up of these pensions and what provisions are the Government
putting in place to help those on low wages build up a pension
pot to help provide a decent income in retirement?
The increase in take-up since 2012 has been extraordinary,
particularly among women, for whom the rate was 40% in 2012 and
is now 86% and in line with men. My hon. Friend will know about
the 2017 review that we conducted on auto-enrolment. As and when
we bring in those changes, that will mean 3 million more people
auto-enrolled with £2 billion of additional savings each
year.
I am chair of the insurance and financial services all-party
parliamentary group, and financial inclusion has been one of our
key areas of focus, particularly following the pandemic which
showed that anybody has the potential to quickly become
vulnerable. What are the Government doing to increase the
financial resilience of our constituents and make them best
placed to cope should such an unforeseen event happen again?
May I first recognise the fantastic work my hon. Friend does on
financial resilience? The Government have, through very difficult
times, come forward with £104 billion of cost of living payments
between 2022 and 2025. I would point my hon. Friend to one
particular scheme: the help to save scheme encourages low-income
households to save and we have recently extended that by 18
months, until April 2025.
Mr Speaker
I call . Not here. I call the
Chair of the Select Committee.
Sir (East Ham) (Lab)
I agree with the Secretary of State about the cross-party success
of auto-enrolment, which has doubled the proportion of eligible
employees saving for retirement, but we know that the current
regular auto-enrolment contribution of 8% of earnings is not
enough to deliver the standard of living in retirement that most
people hope for. Does the Secretary of State recognise that that
minimum level of contribution will need to be increased?
The contribution rates of the employer and employee are a very
important matter, and we keep both under review.
Mr Speaker
I call . Always here.
(Strangford) (DUP)
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
When I was 16, my mother took me to Danske bank—or Northern bank
as it was then—and opened an account for me. When I was 18, my
mother phoned up the pension man in Ballywalter and told him I
needed a pension. My mother has been a big guide in my life. What
would the Secretary of State say to encourage the young people of
today to take their mother’s advice on opening bank and pension
accounts and planning for the future?
I think the response to that is, always take your mother’s
advice. I always did—and look where it got me. At the age of 16,
I would have thought the hon. Gentleman would have been saving
into a piggy bank, putting his little pennies in a porcelain pig.
I direct him to the gov.uk website, where there is a plethora of
information for young people and those of all ages about saving
and what the Government are doing to assist.
Mr Speaker
The good news is that Mrs Shannon is still giving him advice. I
call the shadow Minister.
(Sheffield, Brightside and
Hillsborough) (Lab)
One of the simplest ways to get people saving for the future is
by ensuring that they are enrolled in a pension scheme, but all
too many are currently excluded from auto-enrolment, particularly
women, who are twice as likely to miss out. The Government have
known about this problem for years. They first proposed widening
the criteria in 2017. Last year, thanks to a private Member’s
Bill, the Minister was given the power to do just that, but still
we have seen no update on when this will be implemented. Can the
Secretary of State shed light on when these vital changes will
take place?
The hon. Lady draws attention to savings for women. I have
already stated that 40% of women invested in workplace pensions
back in 2012, and that has skyrocketed to 86% today. There are
now 2.3 million employers providing pensions through the
auto-enrolment route, and there is £29 billion more in workplace
pensions in 2024 than was the case in 2012. The hon. Lady refers,
I think, to the 2017 review, which I have already referred to.
That is currently under review.
Long-term Sickness: Employment
(Rother Valley)
(Con)
2. What steps his Department is taking to help people with
long-term sickness into work. (901322)
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work ()
This Government have a range of initiatives to support disabled
people and people with long-term sickness to start, stay and
succeed in work. At the autumn statement, we built on that by
expanding universal support, launching WorkWell pilots and
establishing work on the reform of the fit note.
My hon. Friend will know about the excellent work being done by
people such as my Maltby constituent, Ian Birch, and all his
colleagues at Reed in Partnership across the whole of Rotherham.
They use DWP funding to help those with long-term issues of
sickness and illness to get back into work and on their feet.
What is her Department doing to make sure that those who go
through these programmes stay in work permanently and contribute
to the local economy?
I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting the value of our local
DWP programmes. In Rother Valley, the Reed in Partnership
approach has given vital support to his constituents, helping
them into work. It is vital to keep supporting them to remain
there, and that is where that particular programme helps. Access
to Work and our Disability Confident scheme are just some of the
initiatives to support disabled people and those with health
conditions while in employment.
(Kingston upon Hull West and
Hessle) (Lab)
Half the women surveyed with endometriosis had to take time off
work often or very often because of their condition, and one in
six women had to give up work altogether. Will the Minister meet
the incredible women from Endometriosis Support Hull and East
Yorkshire to discuss the work they are doing with the local trade
unions to create a best practice charter for employers in Hull to
support women with endometriosis in the workplace?
I was in Aberdeen on Thursday meeting women with health
conditions and hearing about how we can better support women who
are having debilitating impacts from the menopause. That was in
the oil and gas sector, where it takes a long time to build up to
a senior career. I would be interested to hear about the work
that the hon. Lady’s local team are doing. Through the wider
women’s health strategy, we are supporting women to have a
thriving career all the way through. I am keen to hear from her
and those women, and to support the women to stay in work.
Child Maintenance Service
(North Shropshire) (LD)
3. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child
Maintenance Service in collecting child maintenance
payments.(901323)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
The Government are dedicated to ensuring that parents meet their
obligations to children, and we take robust enforcement action
against those who do not. Parents who paid some maintenance on
the collect and pay service increased from 64% to 69% over the 12
months from September 2022.
My constituent’s daughter is a young lady who has missed out for
more than a year on child maintenance payments, because her
father changed jobs and the Child Maintenance Service lost track
of him. My team have been involved, and despite lots of faffing,
she still has not received a payment. She is one of around half
of children in separated families who are not receiving the
maintenance payments they deserve. Will the Minister explain what
his Department is doing to ensure that the employers of these
missing parents are properly chased up?
Where parents have certain categories of taxable income not being
captured by the standard child maintenance calculation, they can
make a request to the CMS to have the calculation varied. We have
consulted on proposals to include more types of taxable income
held by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in the standard
maintenance calculation.
Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)
The Department has a number of ways to try to get paying parents
to cough up, and we must remember that this is cash for the
children. In July 2022, the Government consulted on child
maintenance and improving our enforcement powers through the
commencement of curfew orders, and we still have not had a
response to that consultation. I would be grateful to hear from
the Government when they plan to respond, and I remind them of
the other powers in place, such as depriving people of the
ability to drive or of their passport. This is a simple thing,
where people have the money and will not cough up the cash. I
think we need to get on with curfew orders.
My right hon. Friend is quite right that the Government have
consulted on the use of curfews, which are complex and interact
with numerous Government services. Several enforcement
initiatives aimed at improving compliance are currently in train,
and we need to get those in place and assess their effects before
we can best see how curfews might fit with them. I note her
enthusiasm for curfews and might well put her in touch with
, the Minister in
the Lords, whose policy brief this is, so that he can update her
on our latest thinking.
Benefit Levels
(Glenrothes) (SNP)
4. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels
of benefits.(901324)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ()
Welfare is there to help those who need assistance, including
many of the most vulnerable, which is why we increased most
benefits by 6.7% for 2024-25. That was on top of an increase of
10.1%, including the benefit cap, in 2023-24.
That is all very well, but the rate of inflation for low-paid
families has been significantly higher than the headline rate of
inflation for some time. That means that those families who were
struggling badly last year are struggling even worse this year.
Citizens Advice has shown that families on low incomes have less
disposable income this year than they had last year. Does the
Secretary of State accept that it is time to introduce an
essentials guarantee so that nobody on universal credit or
another income-based benefit can ever be allowed to fall below a
level where they cannot afford the basic essentials of life?
As the hon. Gentleman will know, we keep all benefits under
review. I point him to various things that we have done to ensure
that we look after those lower-income families, including
increasing the national living wage by about 10% in both of the
last two years; the increase in the local housing allowance to
the 30th percentile announced at the last fiscal event, which
will be worth about £800 a year for about 1.6 million people;
and, of course, the tax cuts that the Chancellor was able to
bring forward, which for an average earner are worth £450 a
year.
Mr Speaker
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(Glasgow East) (SNP)
Rather than deal with the known policy failures within the
benefits system, the Government seem to be more focused on
penalising people through, for example, the two-child cap. Last
week, the Labour party joined the Conservatives in prioritising
lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses rather than the two-child cap
on working women. Does the Secretary of State take comfort in the
fact that his cruel legacy will be protected by the Labour
party?
I am not going to get involved in the crossfire between the
Scottish National party and the Labour party, other than to
say—[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. I do not need a continuing argument and disagreement. I am
sure that when the questions come to an end, you can speak
outside.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. The two-child cap is there for good
reason: so that families in those circumstances are taking the
same kind of decisions that others—the taxpayers funding
benefits—have to take.
Child Poverty
(Bolton South East)
(Lab)
5. What steps he is taking to help reduce child
poverty.(901325)
(Edinburgh North and Leith)
(SNP)
13. What recent estimate he has made of the number of children in
poverty.(901333)
The Minister for Employment ()
In the latest statistics, there were 400,000 fewer children in
absolute poverty after housing costs than there were in 2009-10.
In this financial year, we will spend about £124 billion on
welfare supporting working-age families. We are also providing
£104 billion between 2022 and 2025 to help families with cost of
living pressures. However, the Government’s focus is firmly on
reducing the risk of child poverty by supporting parents into
work in every way we can.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation recently found that 42% of
children in Bolton live below the poverty line. After 14 years of
Tory cuts and general incompetence, Britain now has the worst
rise in child poverty among the major countries. What would the
Minister say to a young family in Bolton who told me, “One day we
eat and one day we don’t”?
Nobody on either side of the House wants to see families
struggling. However, I repeat that children living in workless
households are about five times more likely to be in absolute
poverty after housing costs than those in households where all
adults work. The Government are supporting the whole family
through our childcare support, which we have increased by almost
50% to £951 a month for one child or £1,630 for two; the increase
in the national living wage to £11.44 from April; our cost of
living offers; and so on.
The recent Joseph Rowntree Foundation report highlighted
Scotland’s much lower child poverty rate compared with England
and Wales, and said that that was partly due to the Scottish
Government’s child payment. Further progress is constrained by
the UK’s inadequate social security system. The Trussell Trust’s
“guarantee our essentials” campaign shows that 90% of low-income
households on universal credit in the UK cannot afford everyday
essentials. Does the Minister accept that raising the universal
credit basic rate is critical to tackling child poverty?
The welfare system is there to be a strong safety net. It is not
about a singular issue, because no households are the same. It is
about wraparound care and dealing with people on an individual
basis. It is about making sure that where children need
support—for example, with free school meals—we provide it.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Wirral South) (Lab)
Further to the Minister’s response, the Prime Minister has been
asked similar questions about child poverty in recent Prime
Minister’s questions. He usually responds that since 2010, the
Conservatives have lifted 1.7 million people out of absolute
poverty, which, as you know Mr Speaker, tracks living standards
from a fixed point in time. Can the Minister tell me how many
more people, on average, Labour lifted out of absolute poverty
annually, compared with the 1.7 million since 2010 that the Prime
Minister regularly claims?
Rather than trade numbers, I would say that this is about giving
people the dignity of a job. Since 2009-10, 1.7 million fewer
people are in absolute poverty after housing costs, including
400,000 fewer children and 1 million fewer working-age adults. I
know the hon. Lady said that work was not the Labour party’s
priority, but it is very much our priority.
If the Minister can point to an occasion when I have said that
work was not the Labour party’s priority, she ought to say when
that was, or she should withdraw that remark.
The answer to my question is that, on average, more than 350,000
more people left poverty in each year of the Labour Government.
The Prime Minister’s claim is pathetic. Which of the following
does the Minister think had the biggest impact on those poverty
numbers? Was it when the Conservatives repealed the Child Poverty
Act 2010, was it when they shut down the child poverty unit, was
it the collapse in the value of child benefit, or was it the
financial chaos caused by a Conservative Prime Minister in
September 2022, which put all families’ finances at risk?
No, it is the fact that over 1 million more people are in work
and youth employment is up by around 40%. Ensuring that people
have the dignity of work and that, when they are not in work,
there is a strong welfare system around them, is what this
country needs.
Cost of Living: Food Banks
(Dulwich and West Norwood)
(Lab)
6. What recent assessment his Department has made of the
potential relationship between increases in the cost of living
and trends in the use of food banks.(901326)
(Luton South) (Lab)
16. What recent assessment his Department has made of the
potential relationship between increases in the cost of living
and trends in the use of food banks.(901336)
The Minister for Employment ()
The Government take food security very seriously and are
committed to understanding and addressing food poverty. The
reasons that people use food banks are complex and varied. Food
banks are independent charitable organisations and the Government
have no role in their operation. As such, data on trends are not
currently available.
The staff and volunteers at the Norwood and Brixton food bank in
my constituency work tirelessly all year round to support local
people who simply cannot make ends meet. They are responding to
the highest level of need they have ever seen. Why does the
Minister think that, despite this being one of the richest
countries in the world, food bank reliance is continuing to rise
so much on this Government’s watch? Can she tell the House what
the Government are doing to end the need for food banks in the
UK?
As I said, the reasons that people use food banks are complex and
varied, as all the research indicates. We offer support through
cost of living payments and the household support fund, running
to hundreds of millions of pounds. The rise in the national
living wage, the reduction in national insurance and the local
housing allowance further help 1.6 million low-income households.
We have a whole of suite of ways to help the very poorest in our
society.
Food banks such as the excellent Luton Foodbank have been pushed
to breaking point this winter, as more and more people need
emergency food due to the Conservatives’ cost of living crisis.
It is shameful that we now have more food banks than police
stations. What conversations has the Minister had with colleagues
in the Treasury about introducing measures in next month’s Budget
to support low-income working people facing hardship and to
reduce the dependence on food banks?
I point the hon. Lady to the further cost of living payments that
will be going out this week to eligible households. We do not
comment on future fiscal announcements.
Carer’s Allowance
(Preston) (Lab/Co-op)
7. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the carer’s
allowance for people who care for more than one
person.(901327)
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work ()
This is a particular area of interest for me as a former carer
and as part of a caring family. It is important that we get the
right balance. The flat weekly rate for the carer’s allowance has
never been linked to the number of people being cared for. The
weekly rate will increase to £81.90 from April, which is almost
an extra £1,500 a year since 2010.
The hundreds of thousands of carers up and down the country are
the unsung heroes of our society, who do a fantastic job. Whether
it is caring for elderly parents with dementia or sacrificing
full-time work to care for a disabled child, carers play a
critical role, easing the burden on health services. For most
carers, care is a 24/7 job, and they cannot take full-time work
because of it. When will the Government realise that £76, and now
even £81.90, is measly and does not scratch the surface of what
carers have to put up with and pay for, particularly when many
carers are caring for more than one person?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his point, which I appreciate as I
have been in that situation of caring for two people. The primary
purpose of the carer’s allowance is to provide a measure of
financial support and recognition for people unable to work full
time because of their caring responsibilities. I know there are
very strong views on this. I am looking forward to meeting with
Carers UK just after recess—I am afraid I cannot do so before,
due to a funeral—and hearing the varying views and how we can
continue to support our carers, who in every constituency and
community do an amazing job.
PIP Mandatory Reconsideration Decisions
(Newport East) (Lab)
8. Whether his Department is taking steps to reduce the time
taken for personal independence payment mandatory reconsideration
decisions to be made.(901328)
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work ()
We have reduced clearance times from the peak of 79 days in 2021
to 36 days in October 2023 by improving processes and increasing
decision-making capacity. We will continue to improve efficiency
while ensuring effective decision making for all
reconsiderations.
In July last year, a constituent was not able to correctly fill
out their PIP review form, which led to their payments being
stopped. It took until last Thursday—six months from the
mandatory reconsideration going in—for the payments to finally be
restored. Because of the delay, my constituent fell into debt and
became suicidal. Why are the Government not eliminating the
delays that are letting down the most vulnerable
constituents?
I am very sorry to hear about the hon. Lady’s constituent. Our
aim is always to make the right decision as early as possible in
the claim journey, and I would be keen to see the full details of
that particular situation. On decisions, it is important to
consider the context: 2.9 million initial decisions following an
assessment have been made between June 2018 and July 2023; 5%
have resulted in a completed tribunal hearing, with 3%
overturned. I would be very keen to see what has happened in the
case that the hon. Lady mentions.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Lewisham, Deptford)
(Lab)
As my hon. Friend the Member for Newport East () has just highlighted, the
Department is in chaos and that is having a huge impact on
claimants’ lives. As of October, there were 294,000 new personal
independence payment claims waiting to be processed, with a
further 445,000 claimants awaiting an award review. As of
November, 24,339 people were awaiting Access to Work decisions.
We are talking about hundreds of thousands of disabled people
left in financial limbo, with tens of thousands waiting to start
work. What message does the Minister think these huge backlogs
send to disabled people, and how does she finally plan to get a
grip of them?
I thank the hon. Lady for making the important point about the
numbers. I agree that behind each of those is somebody we should
be concerned about, and I am absolutely looking at this point. We
are continuing to learn from decisions overturned by appeal, and
we will continue to make improvements to our decision-making
processes to help people to get the correct decision earlier in
their claim journey, and to be able to work and have the support
where it is needed. Not everybody on PIP is out of work, so we
need to be listening to the needs of the people in those queues.
I am conscious that every one of them is not a statistic but a
person who needs our support.
Ill Health: Economic Inactivity
(Stretford and Urmston)
(Lab)
9. What estimate his Department has made of the cost to the
public purse of economic inactivity due to ill health.
(901329)
(Barrow and Furness) (Con)
11. What steps his Department is taking to reduce labour
inactivity. (901331)
(Burnley) (Con)
21. What steps his Department is taking to reduce labour
inactivity. (901342)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ()
There are, of course, significant costs related to an increase in
long-term sickness and illness rates in work. That is why we have
our £2.5 billion back to work plan, to help 600,000 disabled
people and people with health conditions start and stay in work.
That approach, along with others, has seen economic inactivity
reduce by 330,000 since its peak during the pandemic.
NHS waiting lists are currently at 7.8 million, with more than
177,000 people on waiting lists in my own NHS trust area. When it
is this difficult to access medical treatment, it is no surprise
that we have a record 2.8 million people out of work due to ill
health. Does the Minister accept that this Government’s failure
on the NHS is stymying economic growth, denying people the
dignity of work and costing taxpayers billions of pounds?
On NHS waiting lists, there has been progress, in that the
two-year waiting lists have almost been entirely dispensed with
and those of 18 months have been very substantially reduced. Our
Department recognises that work is part of the solution to
improving people’s health, which is why we are putting forward
the WorkWell service, bringing together medical input and work
coach input; fit note reform to help at an earlier stage of the
journey; and the reforms to the work coach assessment. All those
things are moving towards getting more people into work, which is
good for their health.
In Barrow and Furness, an estimated 4,000 people who could be
contributing to the labour market are not doing so. I am
incredibly grateful to my right hon. Friend and his team, in the
Barrow jobcentre and centrally, who, alongside Team Barrow, have
worked with local employers and skills providers to help get
those people back into our incredibly tight labour market. Will
he pass my thanks on to those teams? May I also encourage him to
visit to see their good work?
I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting all the good work that
has gone on in his constituency. I believe he opened a jobcentre
only as recently as 30 January in his constituency. He is a
doughty campaigner for and supporter of employment in his patch.
He asks whether I will visit his constituency. I would certainly
like to consider that, but my hon. Friend the Employment Minister
might also visit, because she just said she was particularly keen
to do so.
Mr Speaker
There we are.
Burnley and Padiham has so much going for it—with the rest of
Lancashire, our area is the manufacturing powerhouse of the
United Kingdom—but still has stubborn levels of economic
inactivity among people who could be contributing to economic
growth and having financial security, which we all want them to
have. What more can we do to help those people? In particular,
can my right hon. Friend do more to join up with other
Departments so that areas such as Burnley, which might have
structural problems, get more intensive support?
My hon. Friend asks what approach we can take to resolve the
issues that he has raised. We have announced a doubling of
universal support, a scheme with which he will be familiar;
WorkWell, to which I just referred, bringing together medical
support and work coaches; and reform of the fit note system so
that we get involved earlier in the journey that many people
experience when they fall out of the workforce into longer-term
sickness and disability benefits. Overall, the evidence is clear:
economic inactivity is down by 268,000 on the year, and by more
than a third of a million since its peak during the pandemic—a
52% reduction.
Jobs: Witham
(Witham) (Con)
12. What estimate he has made of the number of jobs provided by
businesses in Witham constituency. (901332)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ()
The Office for National Statistics estimates that 36,000 jobs
were provided by employers in Witham in 2022.
As it is Apprenticeship Week, will the Secretary of State join me
in thanking businesses in Witham for everything that they are
doing to employ youngsters and put them on that apprenticeship
pathway? Those businesses, however, are crying out for a labour
market strategy that will help them to harness the skills and the
upskilling that they need in certain sectors. Would the Secretary
of State be prepared to advance that, and push it, across other
Departments?
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the extraordinary work
that she does locally to promote apprenticeships. I believe she
was involved in a jobs fair on 24 January, hosted by Reed, which
was highly successful. The employment rate in her constituency is
81%, well above the national average, which I put down almost
entirely to the work that she is doing. She asked how we would
proceed. We already have swaps, bootcamps and returnerships, but
I am indeed looking at specific areas of the labour market,
particularly in the context of migration changes, where we may be
able to do more on a strategic basis.
State Pension: UK Citizens Living Overseas
Mr (Delyn) (Ind)
14. What recent assessment he has made of the potential cost of
restoring parity in the level of state pension received by UK
citizens living overseas. (901334)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
According to the latest estimate, based on data from March 2022,
uprating the state pension where we do not currently do so would
cost about £0.9 billion a year if all UK state pensions in
payment were increased to current UK levels.
Mr Roberts
Following our withdrawal from the EU, we are rightly able to move
closer to our partners in the Commonwealth. One way in which we
could do that would be to confirm that all British citizens who
live in the Commonwealth should be entitled to the appropriate
uprating of their state pensions as if they were still in the UK.
That would seem to be a matter of simple fairness. Will the
Minister meet me to discuss the practicalities of making it
happen, and restoring some much-needed common sense to a
needlessly complicated situation?
The UK Government continue to uprate state pensions when there is
a legal requirement for that to be done, and have no plans to
change their long-standing policy or enter into new reciprocal
social security agreements.
Benefit Claims Process: Cancer Patients
(Bristol East) (Lab)
15. If he will take steps to simplify the benefits claims process
for cancer patients. (901335)
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work ()
Understandably, such a health diagnosis can be a shock for
individuals, their families and, indeed, their finances—and I am
conscious of saying this just after World Cancer Day. It is
important to ensure that people have the right support as soon as
possible, and as part of our reforms we will simplify the system
to reduce the assessment burden and improve people’s experiences
of assessments.
I thank the Minister for her response, but those changes cannot
come too soon for my constituent Emily, who was diagnosed with
breast cancer in November, is too ill to work, and is finding the
benefits system impossible to navigate. DWP officials have pushed
her from pillar to post, unable to decide whether she is eligible
for employment and support allowance and universal credit. She
has been forced to fill in countless forms, and was even required
to attend a jobcentre appointment over Christmas, despite being
seriously unwell. Does the Minister agree this is simply not good
enough, and that we need to put those changes in place so that
people like Emily do not have to go through this?
I am sorry to hear about Emily’s situation. I would remind others
in her situation that there is a help to claim service available
through Citizens Advice and also a benefits calculator on gov.uk,
but I would also be extremely keen to see the details of what has
happened. I would be happy to meet the hon. Lady or to look at
the details, whatever she would prefer.
Helping People into Employment: Cumbria, Cheadle and
Darlington
(Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
17. What steps he plans to take to increase levels of employment
in Cumbria. (901337)
(Cheadle) (Con)
18. What steps his Department is taking to expand the support
available through jobcentres in Cheadle constituency.
(901339)
(Darlington) (Con)
24. What steps he is taking to help fill job vacancies in
Darlington constituency. (901345)
The Minister for Employment ()
Across the country our fantastic work coaches are supporting
people to secure and progress in work. In Kendal, Cheadle and
Darlington, jobcentres are working with local and national
employers to match jobseekers with vacancies through job fairs,
sector-based work academy programmes and apprenticeships. As it
is National Apprenticeship Week, this is a great time for
employers to promote the opportunities available, and I urge all
colleagues who have not yet done so to visit their jobcentre if
it has an apprenticeship fair on. The hon. Gentleman’s was last
week, wasn’t it?
I do indeed celebrate the work of the Kendal jobcentre. It does a
fantastic job but one problem is that it has too small a
workforce. This week we mourn the loss of yet another Lake
District business, this time a bistro in Coniston, due in part to
the loss of affordable homes and to restrictive visa rules, both
of which are shrinking our local workforce. Will the Minister
meet me and local Cumbrian business leaders to develop a plan to
tackle Cumbria’s workforce crisis?
I am happy to meet the hon. Gentleman, but I also gently say that
this is about other Government Departments as well. I will
certainly work with him as far as employers go, under my
remit.
Speaking to Stockport jobcentre last week, I heard about the
success of the movement to work scheme, which places young people
with employers, including in the civil service. However, the
lengthy civil service application process is delaying placements.
Will my hon. Friend look into how the process could be
streamlined and accelerated, and join me on a visit to Stockport
jobcentre?
I know that senior civil servants are engaged in piloting an
initiative that will help to speed this up, because we need to
place those candidates more quickly and ensure that we get them
into work swiftly. I would love to visit Stockport and add its
jobcentre to the growing list that I have visited.
I put on record my thanks to my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham
() for his work to establish the Jobcentre Plus
Facebook pages, of which Darlington’s was the first. Will my hon.
Friend the Minister outline how successful that page has been and
what further plans she has to develop accessible social media job
advertising?
We know that social media helps, and that 40 to 50-year-olds in
particular enjoy engaging with a digital platform when they are
looking for work. We have had instances in the past of people
thanking us when they have been given interviews online. It is
important that posts are accessible and we are working to ensure
that this is the case. I would point customers of any age to the
JobHelp website, which has a host of useful information. I am
keen to see if we can roll out such progress further.
Mr Speaker
I do find that a strange grouping, but not to worry, Minister.
Well dealt with! How you got from Cumbria across the country like
that is amazing.
Autism: Workplace Accessibility
(Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
20. What steps he is taking to help ensure workplaces are
accessible for autistic people. (901341)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ()
Autistic people have a huge amount to offer in the workforce,
which is why we set up the Buckland review in April 2023, led by
my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for South Swindon
(Sir ), to look at the barriers
to autistic people gaining employment and to ensure that we have
a more inclusive workforce for them.
Mr Sheerman
May I push the Minister on what progress has been made by the
Buckland review? Will he also remind jobcentres up and down the
country that people on the autism spectrum have great talents and
often need only slight workplace modifications of simple things
such as lighting or noise levels? This could open up a source of
real talent for our country.
The hon. Gentleman is entirely right. Small changes can often
make a big difference, not just for autistic people but for the
businesses they go on to serve and work in. He will have to be a
little more patient about the Buckland review report coming out,
but it will not be long. I also point him to the Access to Work
and Disability Confident approaches, which both do exactly what
he suggests.
Statutory Sick Pay Eligibility: Stoke-on-Trent North
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con)
22. What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of
the number of people who are not eligible for statutory sick pay
because they are paid less than the lower earnings limit on
levels of inequality in Stoke-on-Trent North constituency.
(901343)
The Minister for Employment ()
The Department has not made a specific assessment for the
Stoke-on-Trent North constituency, but I refer my hon. Friend to
the evidence I presented to the Work and Pensions Committee last
week. I look forward to meeting him this week to discuss this in
more detail.
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her answer. I am proud to
have joined a campaign, together with my right hon. Friend the
Member for Witham () and the hon. Member for
Glasgow East (), to reform statutory sick
pay. That campaign, led by the Centre for Progressive Change, was
referenced in today’s Times Health Commission report. Ahead of
the spring Budget, will the Department join us in lobbying the
Treasury to make these important changes, so that we have a
healthier workforce that contributes more to our economy and,
more importantly, so that we make sure that work pays fairly?
I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave to the Work and
Pensions Committee. Statutory sick pay is considerably more
complex than he makes out, but it is nice to see all this
cross-party collaboration.
Topical Questions
(Dulwich and West Norwood)
(Lab)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental
responsibilities.(901346)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ()
The Department has been busy supporting the most vulnerable, with
the third instalment of the £900 cost of living payments starting
to reach the bank accounts of 8 million low-income households
tomorrow. We are also on the verge of publishing our disability
action plan. We have seen economic inactivity decrease by 330,000
since its peak during the pandemic.
I have made it a priority for my Department to engage across
Parliament. As Secretary of State, I appeared before the Work and
Pensions Committee in December. The pensions Minister, my hon.
Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (), appeared before the
Committee on 10 January; the Minister for Employment, my hon.
Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds (), appeared before the Committee on 31 January; and
I believe the Minister for Disabled People, my hon. Friend the
Member for Mid Sussex (), and Viscount Younger, our
Lords Minister, will appear before it next month. There will be a
statement on the disability action plan this afternoon.
Lambeth Council and Southwark Council have worked hard over the
past few years to deliver targeted cost of living support through
the household support fund. Many local people continue to face
serious hardship as a consequence of this Government’s political
decisions, but local authorities do not know what, if any,
funding they will receive after 31 March. When does the Secretary
of State expect to confirm the future of the household support
fund, so that local authorities can plan ahead?
I am pleased that the hon. Lady recognises the importance and
value of our various interventions. Ten million payments have
been made through the HSF since its inception, and £1 billion has
been put into the fund in the last year. She will know that her
question is a matter for the Chancellor, and the matter will
quite possibly—I really do not know—be dealt with at a future
fiscal event. There is no news on that at this stage.
(Ynys Môn) (Con)
T3. Anglesey has an active autism parents’ group, and brilliant
coaches like Ryan Gibbs—he runs a “fighting for Autism” class—who
work hard to support autistic children and each other. For
parents such as Shelly Rankin Jones and young autistic people
such as Becca Pierce, can the Minister update the House on the
Buckland review of autism employment?(901348)
I thank my hon. Friend for her question, because autism is an
issue of great importance to the House and to her personally. I
know about the work that she is doing with Ryan Gibbs, Becca
Pierce and Shelly Rankin Jones. She will know that the Buckland
review was instigated in April 2023 and will conclude relatively
shortly, with a report being published online. I look forward to
visiting her disability jobs fair in Holyhead at the end of this
week.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
(Leicester West) (Lab)
This morning the Office for National Statistics published the
long-awaited updated figures from the labour market survey. Can
the Secretary of State now confirm that our employment rate is
even lower than previously thought, and that there are at least
200,000 more people out of work due to long-term sickness? We
thought that the cost of health-related inactivity was an
additional £15 billion a year since the pandemic, but given these
new figures, can he tell the House how much more his Government’s
failure is costing taxpayers every single year?
Mr Speaker
Order. I remind Front Benchers that this is topical questions,
which are meant to be short and punchy, and they should stick to
the rules. Do we understand each other?
The hon. Lady refers to the latest weighted numbers just released
by the Office for National Statistics, which show that
unemployment as a percentage is lower than originally forecast.
She cannot get away from the fact that there are 330,000 fewer
people in economic inactivity since the peak. As a result of our
work capability assessment reforms, the Office for Budget
Responsibility has scored us as having 371,000 fewer people on
long-term sickness benefits than would otherwise have been the
case.
The former health Minister says that he is “gobsmacked”
by the figures, and that
“the economic hit will be hard”.
The Minister would do well to listen to his words. Yesterday, the
Education Secretary said that the Government cannot guarantee
that their promises will be met on childcare, which parents need
in order to work. Today, their Prime Minister admitted that he
has failed on NHS waiting lists, which the long-term sick need
dealt with if they are to get back to work. Why does the
Secretary of State not do the decent thing and admit that he has
failed too, and adopt Labour’s plan to cut waits, roll out
breakfast clubs, overhaul jobcentres and get Britain working
again?
We are getting Britain working, unlike the Opposition, under
whose last Administration unemployment increased, youth
unemployment went up by 40%, some 25% more women were unemployed
and 1 million people or thereabouts were stuck on long-term
benefits for almost a decade. That was a disgrace.
(Waveney) (Con)
T4. Sizewell C will provide an enormous number of job
opportunities in Suffolk. Will my right hon. Friend outline the
work that the Department for Work and Pensions is doing to ensure
that local people have every opportunity to work on the project
and acquire the necessary skills?(901349)
The Minister for Employment ()
Like my hon. Friend, I am excited about the jobs and
opportunities at Sizewell. Local jobcentres have been engaged
with Sizewell C, and I understand that a local partnership
manager will be designated to promote opportunities, and to find
people for 1,500 apprenticeships and thousands of jobs. We will
invest in local skills through sector-based work programmes and
the like.
Mr Speaker
I call the spokesperson for the Scottish National party.
(Glasgow East) (SNP)
Last month, a report by the pension provider Royal London showed
that women lose, on average, £92,000 as a result of juggling
part-time work and childcare. What are the Government going to do
about that?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
As the hon. Gentleman will have heard earlier, the proportion of
women saving for their pensions has gone from 40% 10 years ago to
89% now.
(Vale of Clwyd) (Con)
T7. People with disabilities often take on voluntary roles, as
there can be societal barriers to gaining employment. My
constituent Philippa has a son with Down’s syndrome who
volunteers, providing much-valued music workshops for local
children. How can the Minister ensure that the work of people
with disabilities is properly recognised in the
workplace?(901352)
I congratulate Philippa’s son on the very good work that he does.
We have disability employment advisers in our jobcentres. I am
visiting my hon. Friend’s constituency later this week; I know
that he has been involved in the Denbighshire project, including
the We Mind the Gap programme for young people, and I will be
interested to discuss that and other matters.
Peter Grant (Glenrothes) (SNP)
T2. Fife Gingerbread, based in my constituency, contacted me
to point out that most of the provisions in the Child Support
Collection (Domestic Abuse) Act 2023, which was unanimously
agreed by the House and received Royal Assent at the end of June
last year, have still not been brought into force. That means
that far too many vulnerable people who want to make a claim
through the Child Maintenance Service find that abusive
ex-partners use it to control their behaviour. Why is it taking
so long to put in place the measures in the Act?(901347)
I can confirm to the hon. Gentleman that the Child Maintenance
Service has a domestic abuse plan to ensure that parents are not
placed in danger as a consequence of any suggestion of domestic
violence; for example, it has a centralised sort code to limit
the risk of parental involvement.
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con)
I wish to place on record my thanks to the Secretary of State for
helping to guide my private Member’s Bill through Parliament. It
lowers the pension auto-enrolment age from 22 to 18, and
abolishes the lower earnings threshold. Briefly, has the
Secretary of State received reassurances from the Chancellor that
the necessary forms will be implemented in the spring Budget?
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. Those matters are under
active consideration.
(Twickenham) (LD)
T6. Given that the Secretary of State has just said that the
continuation of the household support fund after the end of March
is up to the Chancellor, and given that, last week, we had the
support of all parties in Westminster Hall for the continuation
of this vital fund, will he assure the House that the subject is
a top priority in his negotiations with the
Chancellor?(901351)
The specifics of my negotiations with the Treasury remain between
me and the Treasury. As I have said, the any of those decisions
on the HSF are matters for the Treasury.
(Dudley North) (Con)
T9. In 2005, the DWP failed to make a reasonable decision about
targeting information at the women affected by state pension age
changes. The ombudsman ruled that there was maladministration.
These women, in Dudley and around the country, deserve more than
just an apology. Does the Minister accept these findings, and if
not, will he explain why not?(901354)
The Department is co-operating with the Parliamentary and Health
Service Ombudsman investigation, which is ongoing, and it would
not be appropriate to comment on it or the outcome.
(Newport East) (Lab)
T8. My constituent’s universal credit payments have been stopped
over Christmas for two years running, because her employer pays
her salary early in December. Why will Ministers not do more to
ensure that caseworkers know that they can use the discretion
that they have, so that my constituents and others like her have
financial certainty at what is a very difficult time of
year?(901353)
The way that universal credit works means that work coaches can
use their flexibility, but if a payment is short one month, the
appropriate thing to do is to sort it the next.
(North East Fife)
(LD)
T10. In his opening remarks, the Secretary of State mentioned the
assessment period for cost of living payments, but people on
four-weekly pay schedules miss out on support because they fall
foul of the assessment period rules for universal credit. What
assessment have the Government made of the number of people
missing out, and what remedy do they have?(901355)
Cost of living payments can be affected by when people are paid,
and therefore by whether they are on universal credit and qualify
at precisely that point. I do not have the figure to hand that
the hon. Lady requests, but I will of course get back to her with
it.
(Oldham East and
Saddleworth) (Lab)
This morning’s report by the Academy of Medical Sciences revealed
that our appalling child health and infant mortality rates are
worse than those of 60% of similar countries and is the key
driver of child poverty. What assessment has the Secretary of
State undertaken to make on the impact that stopping the
household support fund in April will have on relative child
poverty and, subsequently, infant mortality?
As the hon. Lady will know, the number of those in child poverty
has decreased by 400,000 since 2010. We do not yet have a
decision on the household support fund, to which she refers, but
I point her to the very significant uplift in the local housing
allowance, which will give 1.6 million people £800 a year more on
average, thereby taking many of them out of poverty.
(Mid Bedfordshire)
(Lab)
From unanswered emails to unreturned calls, it has been
heartbreaking to hear from so many vulnerable constituents who
are in a state of limbo and distress, and trying to chase up
personal independence payments. When will Ministers ensure that
people can get the support that they need in a timely and
straightforward manner?
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work ()
If the hon. Gentleman has specific examples, I would be keen to
hear from him and to look into them.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee.
Sir (East Ham) (Lab)
Will the Secretary of State point out to the Chancellor that many
councils have used the household support fund to pay £3 per day
per child during the school holidays to families entitled to free
school meals, and that if the fund closes at the end of March,
those families will be straight into hardship in the Easter
school holidays?
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his representation, and
indeed would be grateful for any others that he is minded to make
to me as we conduct our ongoing review on where we go with the
household support fund.
(Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
When will the Minister wake up to the fact that working as an
apprentice in engineering is a fabulous career choice, and well
paid? Will she come up to Huddersfield to look at Cummins, whose
apprentice system is first rate?
I would be delighted to do so on my tour of England. I could not
agree more with the hon. Gentleman. My father is an engineer. It
is a fantastic profession, and the more we can encourage
apprenticeships right across the board, the better. Nearly 6
million people have now taken them up. I would be delighted to
come.
