Self-employment Peter Dowd (Bootle) (Lab) 2. What recent
assessment he has made of trends in the level of self-employment.
[908056] The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Damian
Green) The Government support those who aspire to be their
own boss. The number of self-employed people in the UK labour
market has increased by nearly 800,000 since...Request free trial
Self-employment
-
(Bootle) (Lab)
2. What recent assessment he has made of trends in the
level of self-employment. [908056]
-
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Damian
Green)
The Government support those who aspire to be their own
boss. The number of self-employed people in the UK labour
market has increased by nearly 800,000 since 2010 and by
129,000 in the last year alone. We continue to monitor and
review the impact of self-employment on the wider labour
market and benefits system.
-
A Citizens Advice report in August 2015 said that there
were as many as 460,000 people in bogus self-employment,
with a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds in lost
revenue. Is it not about time that the Secretary of State,
rather than hounding disabled people, started tackling
exploitative companies, many of which have lucrative public
sector contracts, that are forcing people down the
self-employment route?
-
The hon. Gentleman is right that there should be no
exploitation of workers, particularly through forced
self-employment, but he will have noticed that the
Government are on the case, having set up the review
specifically to explore alternative employment structures
and to consider how employment rules need to be altered to
keep pace with changes in how people work in the modern
economy. If, however, he is characterising the growth of
self-employment as harmful to the jobs market, I would
disagree. The new enterprise allowance is proving very
successful at making sure that people who want to can work
for themselves. I am sure that he, like me, welcomes the
fact that in his own constituency self-employment is up by
7% since 2015, and that the claimant count in the last year
has fallen by 12%.
-
Mr (Bury North)
(Con)
Happy new year, Mr Speaker.
Does my right hon. Friend agree that rather than
denigrating people who become self-employed, we ought to be
celebrating the fact that they are prepared to take a risk
that many others are not? Will he make it as easy as
possible for them to take on new employees and become
employers themselves?
-
I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I have already
mentioned the new enterprise allowance, which is designed
specifically to help people to stop claiming benefits, set
up their own businesses, and then carry on and employ
others in a way that I hope everyone on both sides of the
House would welcome. This scheme is proving extremely
successful. A survey published last year showed that 80% of
businesses that started with the new enterprise allowance
were still trading, which makes it more than twice as
effective as the old jobseeker’s allowance in terms of
keeping people off benefits, so it is doing good work.
-
Dame (Doncaster
Central) (Lab)
Happy new year, Mr Speaker.
Will the Secretary of State ensure that there is much
closer co-operation between the single fraud investigation
service and local authorities on the prosecution of abuse,
including on self-employment status, so that councils can
be confident that when they report possible scams,
including by employers, they are properly followed up?
-
I am happy to pass on the right hon. Lady’s message to the
relevant bodies—councils and the fraud investigation
service. Of course, while self-employment is a good thing,
fraud involving any kind of employment is wrong, so clearly
we must get ever more effective at combatting it.
-
(Torbay) (Con)
I am sure that the Secretary of State agrees that online
opportunities are giving many people the chance to set up a
microbusiness. Does he agree that schemes such as the
pop-up shop initiative that Torbay Council ran to help
internet micro-retailers to take their first step on to the
high street are the kind of thing we should be looking at
in terms of self-employment, rather than some of the
negative impressions we hear from the Opposition?
-
I very much agree, and I particularly welcome Torbay’s
pop-up shop experiment. I had such a scheme in my
constituency a couple of years ago, and it did indeed prove
successful in allowing microbusinesses to start and to
develop into larger businesses, thereby creating more
employment and wealth, so I am delighted to hear what is
happening in Torbay.
-
(Torfaen)
(Lab)
Happy new year, Mr Speaker.
Many self-employed people do not earn a great deal of money
and will be losing out from cuts to tax credits and the
introduction of universal credit. Should not the Government
be supporting those who become self-employed?
-
I am sorry, Mr Speaker, that I have not yet wished you
happy new year publicly—I have done so only privately—as
clearly that is becoming a compulsory part of this question
session. I now wish you happy new year publicly.
I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman’s characterisation
of self-employed earners and universal credit. Universal
credit reduces poverty by making work pay. It supports
claimants to enter work, and then to be able to keep some
of their benefits while they are at work if they are not
receiving or earning very much money. Universal credit
actually does the opposite of what the hon. Gentleman
says—it helps people who are getting into work for the
first time.
-
(Slough) (Lab)
But is not the biggest trend in self-employment the massive
increase in women who are self-employed, with 70% of those
newly self-employed in 2014 being women? Yet
self-employment is the area where the wage gap is biggest.
According to the OECD, self-employed men earn an average of
£17,000 a year, but average earnings for self-employed
women stand at £9,800. We know from the Department’s
figures that women are less likely to access loans and so
forth for self-employment. What is the Secretary of State
doing to deal with gender inequality in self-employment?
-
I agree with right hon. Lady that gender inequality and pay
generally are issues that we need to do more about, and
self-employment is one part of that. That is why we have
introduced measures such as the new enterprise allowance—
-
Only men take it up.
-
The right hon. Lady says that only men take it up, but that
is patently not true.
-
It is disproportionately men.
-
If the right hon. Lady is saying that it is
disproportionately men who take the allowance up, I would
urge more potential women entrepreneurs to take it up. We
are improving the new enterprise allowance later this year
to make sure that the mentoring and advice goes on for
longer so that more people—men and women—will be able to
benefit from the freedom of being able to start, set up and
run their own business, which millions of people want to
do.
-
(Oldham East and
Saddleworth) (Lab)
A happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to everyone.
Resolution Foundation data show that self-employment
accounts for 81% of the net change in employment since
2008. The Government’s plans to abolish class 2 national
insurance contributions could leave low-income,
self-employed women paying five times as much to access
maternity allowance. Given that nearly 2 million
self-employed workers earn less than the national living
wage, why have the Government decided to make social
security support harder to access for so many of Britain’s
entrepreneurs?
-
They have not. Let me update the hon. Lady’s figures, which
I know she has quoted before. Since 2010, 29% of the
increase has been in self-employment, and in the last 12
months—
-
Since 2008.
-
I know about 2008; I am giving more up-to-date figures, as
I said.
Over the past year, 38% of the increase in employment has
been in self-employment, so the figures are not as the hon.
Lady suggests. As I said in answer to the hon. Member for
Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds), the whole point of universal
credit is that people, whether it be through
self-employment or employment, are able to keep their
income. We have reduced the taper so that less of their
income is lost when they go up the earnings scale and get
into work. I am afraid that the hon. Lady simply
misunderstands what is happening in the welfare system.
Disabled and Terminally Ill Children
-
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Penny
Mordaunt)
This year we are due to spend nearly £1.9 billion on
supporting ill and disabled children through disability
living allowance. We have special rules in place to grant
immediate access to the benefit for those who are
terminally ill.
-
May I also wish you a happy new year, Mr Speaker?
I thank my hon. Friend for her answer. The DWP family
resources survey that was published last year showed that
there were nearly 1 million disabled children—a 20%
increase over the past 10 years. Will she outline what
measures the Government are implementing to take account of
that increase so that these children can access the support
and the specialist equipment that they require?
-
Local authorities and clinical commissioning groups have a
requirement to meet the needs of children with a special
educational need or disability, including by providing
specialist equipment. In the past few months, my Department
has set up a children and young person’s forum so that we
can better understand the unmet need that is out there. My
hon. Friend will know from the work that I have done with
one of the organisations with which she is involved that we
are looking to support charities, social enterprises and
businesses that are providing these much-needed services.
-
Mr (Huddersfield)
(Lab/Co-op)
Many of us who liked some of the elements of the big
society when we first heard about it now quite like some of
the utterances about the shared society. However, if the
programme is to work for children, and not just for those
who are terminally ill but people with disabilities—some
disabilities are abilities; I am thinking here of autism—it
must have teeth, leadership and resources.
-
Absolutely. The measures announced by the Prime Minister
today will be accompanied by additional funding, and every
age range in society will be taken into account. There
will, for instance, be measures to help children and young
people—I have just described what my Department is doing to
ensure that their needs are considered—as well as new
provision for those in the workplace.
-
(Wolverhampton South West)
(Lab)
Some children with disabilities receive disabled students
allowances. Given that a number of them are not eligible
for personal independence payments or disability living
allowance, why are the Government cutting DSA?
-
We are very conscious of the needs of children and young
people in particular, which is why we have set up an
additional forum. Obviously we are concerned about people
in the workplace, but if we get this right for children and
young people, including students, we will avoid problems
for future ministerial teams. I shall be happy to look into
any particular case that the hon. Gentleman wishes to
raise.
Health Outcomes: Work
-
(Lichfield)
(Con)
4. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State
for Health on ensuring that GPs and other healthcare
professionals take account of the value of work as a
successful health outcome; and if he will make a statement.
[908058]
-
(South Suffolk)
(Con)
20. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State
for Health on ensuring that GPs and other healthcare
professionals take account of the value of work as a
successful health outcome; and if he will make a statement.
[908075]
-
Can you issue a papal bull, Mr Speaker, stating that we do
not have to say happy new year—but happy new year anyway?
-
Mr Speaker
That is very welcome. We do not need to take up unnecessary
time, but I appreciate the spirit of the hon. Gentleman’s
suggestion.
-
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Damian
Green)
I shall not say happy new year again, Mr Speaker.
Evidence shows that being in the right work is good for
health, and that being out of work can have a detrimental
effect on health. That was why I launched the “Work, health
and disability” Green Paper jointly with the Secretary of
State for Health. The Green Paper expresses our intention
of working with healthcare professionals to help people
into employment, and our current consultations ask how we
can best achieve that goal.
-
Helen Stokes-Lampard, the chair of the Royal College of
General Practitioners, has rightly spoken about the burden
of work on GPs. Notwithstanding that, what analysis has my
right hon. Friend carried out of the effectiveness of fit
notes in getting people back to work?
-
I am keen to improve their effectiveness in that regard,
and I also take my hon. Friend’s point about the pressure
on GPs. In the consultation document we consider the
possibility of extending the issuing of fit notes to other
healthcare professionals, and I shall be interested to see
what response we receive, not just from those who receive
the fit notes but from the professionals involved.
-
I strongly support my right hon. Friend in respect of this
specific policy. Does he agree, however, that as the
consultants—as it were—to whom patients are referred will
be work coaches, it is critical that those people receive
training that will enable them to deal with the hardest
cases among those who are unemployed, particularly those
with pressing mental health problems?
-
I agree with my hon. Friend and am grateful for his
support. I am happy to reassure him that all work coaches
will complete specific training for their role, including a
course that combines the knowledge, skills and behaviour
that they will need to deal with the people with whom they
work, particularly those with mental health conditions.
Obviously, work coaches will need specific skills to handle
the many issues that will arise from such conditions.
-
Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)
22. The benefits of an autistic constituent of mine were
taken away by a DWP caseworker after my constituent told
that person that he enjoyed his hobby of being a disc
jockey. He received a bill showing a fictional figure,
invented by the DWP, representing the amount of income that
the Department needed to recover. A work coach should be
assisting individuals, not penalising them, so will the
Secretary of State please do better? [908077]
-
Obviously I do not know the details of the individual case,
but if the hon. Gentleman writes to me or the Minister for
Disabled People, Health and Work, we will look at it. I can
assure him, however, that in the vast majority of cases,
work coaches do their best and work very hard to help
people to make the most of their lives, and to get into
employment. That is at the heart of what we do.
-
(East Ham) (Lab)
After the big cut in employment and support allowance takes
place in April and the new Work and Health programme is in
place, will the Department be spending more or less on
employment support for ESA claimants than is currently the
case under the Work programme and Work Choice?
-
I am happy to assure the right hon. Gentleman that as part
of the changes there is an extra £330 million support
programme for those in that group. We will target support
more effectively to ensure that as many of them as possible
can get back into work.
Ex-offenders
-
(Bromley and
Chislehurst) (Con)
5. What steps he is taking to help ex-offenders into work.
[908059]
-
The Minister for Employment (Damian Hinds)
There is a huge premium on helping ex-offenders into work
for them, their families and their children’s life chances,
and for reducing cost to society. Jobcentre Plus now has a
dedicated resource of 150 prison work coaches who are
helping to support prisoners nationwide.
-
I am grateful to the Minister for his response. He will
know from his own experience, and from the excellent report
on supporting offenders by the Work and Pensions Committee,
which my own Select Committee would endorse, that getting a
job is one of the best means of preventing reoffending. As
well as the work that is being done, will he consider what
can be done jointly with the Ministry of Justice to ensure
there is better collaboration between job centres and
community rehabilitation companies so that they are joined
up, given that people currently risk the cliff edge to
which the report refers?
-
We work closely with the Ministry of Justice on numerous
joint initiatives locally and nationally, and we are
supporting the development of the MOJ’s new offender
employment strategy, but I recognise that we need to
improve opportunities for ex-offenders, so I welcome the
continued attention of my hon. Friend and his Committee, as
well as the Work and Pensions Committee report, to which we
will respond in due course.
-
(Feltham and Heston)
(Lab/Co-op)
Her Majesty’s inspectorates of prisons and probation found
that not a single prisoner had been helped into employment
by the Through the Gate provision, which is the
Government’s flagship programme for achieving a step change
in rehabilitation. Did that surprise the Minister, and what
is his response?
-
First of all, my response is that this has been a challenge
for successive Governments for many years. We do need to do
better, but there is good work going on. Ultimately, to
improve the situation, we need more prisoners to be
work-ready, and we need more employers to be willing to
take the plunge and take on a prisoner. Having governors
controlling skills provision in prisons will have a
beneficial effect on work-readiness, but we all need to
encourage more employers to step forward. Initiatives such
as the See Potential programme can play an important part
in that, as can Ban the Box and the Employers’ Forum for
Reducing Re-offending, but of course we need to do more.
-
Mrs (Chesham and Amersham)
(Con)
The Minister will be aware that people on the autistic
spectrum are disproportionately represented in the criminal
justice system and that people with autism have great
difficulty in finding jobs. Can he reassure me that when he
looks at the consultation on the health and disability
Green Paper, he will look specifically at people with
autism and ex-offenders with autism, as only 16% of people
with autism are currently in employment?
-
My right hon. Friend highlights an important point. I know
my hon. Friend the Minister for Disabled People, Health and
Work will be looking very closely at the issue of people
with autism. This also highlights that one of the key
determinants for post-release employment is what happened
with the individual before they were convicted, and it
highlights again the importance of making sure nobody is
left behind. In our work, we pay particular attention to
all these groups who face particularly difficult barriers
in getting into work.
-
Ms (Westminster North)
(Lab)
Our Work and Pensions Committee report found that
reoffending costs £15 billion to the public purse, yet
fewer than one in four ex-offenders goes on to find work.
Alarmingly, Westminster Council’s report on rough sleeping
that was published before Christmas found that one in three
of its rough sleepers had come directly from prison. Why is
the Department unable to provide proper transitional
support for people leaving prison to make sure that they
are not on the streets and that they are assisted into
employment?
-
It is vital that ex-offenders and people on release from
prison have help with finances, employment and housing.
Among the things we have done to help on housing is to
ensure that there are no waiting days in relation to
universal credit and to keep the housing element in
universal credit open for 26 weeks rather than 13 for
certain types of prisoner in order to ensure that we can
enhance their support.
Pension Investments
-
(Crawley) (Con)
6. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that
people have the information they need to make informed
decisions about how they use their pension investments.
[908060]
-
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions
(Richard Harrington)
Mr Speaker, were I allowed to wish you a happy new year,
you can be assured that I would do so.
Pension Wise provides guidance to people aged 50 and over
with a defined contribution pension pot on their options
under the pension flexibilities. We are consulting on a
single financial guidance body to provide debt advice and
guidance on money and pensions.
-
In thanking the Minister for his reply, I cannot resist
wishing him, and indeed the whole House, a happy new year.
Can he tell me what information the Government are
providing to let people know about their entitlement to the
state pension?
-
I thank my hon. Friend for his salutations and for his
question. The Department for Work and Pensions continues to
run a multi-channel communication campaign that includes
radio, press and social media to raise awareness of the new
state pension. As well as directing people to information
on gov.uk and working with stakeholders to deliver key
information, our priority has been to provide personalised
information to individuals so that they know how much state
pension they are likely to get, and from when. Since
February 2016, the online Check your State Pension service
has had more than 2.1 million views.
-
(Wirral South)
(Lab)
The Minister’s warm words will do nothing to reassure the
women in my constituency for whom the Government’s advice
on pensions has a terrible reputation because of the
injustices highlighted by the Women Against State Pension
Inequality campaign. The one thing the Government could do
to persuade the public to believe their pronouncements on
pension entitlements would be to give justice to the WASPI
women by looking again at the 2011 changes.
-
The hon. Lady will be aware, because the WASPI women have
been discussed in the House and I have discussed this
matter personally with her on many occasions, that the
changes affecting them were in the Pensions Act 1995, and
that a lot of time and resources were devoted to informing
them of the situation, including millions of letters being
sent out from 2011.
-
(Ross, Skye and
Lochaber) (SNP)
A happy new year to you and everyone in the House, Mr
Speaker, and particularly to the WASPI women. I hope that
they have a better year this year.
The leaflet entitled “Ways to save in 2017” recently
published by the Treasury mentioned the junior ISA, the
help to buy ISA, premium bonds, cash and stocks and shares
ISAs and the new lifetime ISA, but it completely omitted to
mention pensions. That is an absolute disgrace, and it
confirms my fears that the Government have downgraded the
role of pensions and are using the gimmick of ISAs to
distract attention from pensionable savings. Does the
Minister agree that pensionable saving is the best form of
saving for retirement? Will he establish a pensions and
savings commission to ensure that dignity in retirement is
promoted and protected?
-
I must totally disagree with the hon. Gentleman’s analysis
of the importance that the Government place on pensions. A
lot of effort goes into communicating with people, on
television and elsewhere, about auto-enrolment. The
auto-enrolment of so many people has been one of the great
successes of this Government and of the coalition, and I
hope that that continues.
-
(Stockton North)
(Lab)
I know that the Minister agrees with me on the need for
greater transparency in the pensions world, particularly
around costs. He will therefore be keen to address the
widespread criticism of the Government’s failing to act to
ensure that people get the best possible returns. The
Financial Conduct Authority’s interim report in November
highlighted a number of failures in the asset management
industry relating to the transparency of costs and charges
applied to pension investments, stating that “weak price
competition” was having a “material impact” on investment
returns. Labour is committed to implementing all the FCA’s
recommendations. Are the Government?
-
Yes.
Children in Relative Poverty
-
(Walthamstow)
(Lab/Co-op)
7. What recent estimate his Department has made of the
number of children living in relative poverty in the UK.
[908061]
-
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Damian
Green)
There are 100,000 fewer children in relative poverty than
in 2010 and 557,000 fewer children living in workless
households. The forthcoming Green Paper on social justice
will identify and address the root causes of poverty,
building on the two statutory indicators set out in the
Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016—namely, worklessness and
educational attainment.
-
I note that the Minister uses the figures for relative
poverty, and I am a little surprised. We know that absolute
poverty in this country has been in decline for the past 10
years, except among children. We know that 500,000 more
children in this country are living in absolute poverty
than was the case in 2010. What responsibility does he
think this Government and the previous Government have for
that?
-
The Government have a responsibility to make sure that as
many households as possible have work, particularly
households with children. Working-age adults in non-working
families are almost four times more likely to be living on
a low income. The “Child Poverty Transitions” report of
June 2015 found that 74% of poor children in workless
families who moved into full employment exited poverty.
That is what we can do, and are doing, for children who
have been in poverty.
The hon. Lady neglected to say it, but there are now
500,000 fewer people living in absolute poverty than in
2010. The key point is about getting people into work. As a
reasonable Opposition Member, I hope she would acknowledge
that the fact we have historically low levels of
unemployment is actually the best thing we can do for
children—it is the best way to get children and the
households they live in out of poverty. I am happy to tell
her that, in her constituency, the claimant count is down
by 47% since 2010 and the youth claimant count has fallen
by 2% in the past year.
-
Mr Speaker
All of us in the Chamber can learn about the merits of
brevity from the right hon. Member for New Forest West, who
will not disappoint me.
-
Sir (New Forest West)
(Con)
However the problem presents in my surgeries, scratch the
surface and, nine times out of 10, the swiftest cause of
poverty is family breakdown, which will be a much harder
nut to crack.
-
Absolutely. That is precisely why this Government, and
previously the coalition Government, have decided that
having a simple income-based measure and target is not the
right way. We need to look at the root causes of child
poverty, and having a range of indicators and targets—one
of which is on family breakdown—is the best way to make
sure that we have as few children as possible living in
poverty and that more and more children are able to emerge
from it.
-
(Banff and Buchan)
(SNP)
A good new year to you, Mr Speaker.
The Secretary of State has focused so far on the value of
work in tackling child poverty, but the reality is that the
average working family in receipt of universal credit will
be more than £1,000 a year worse off by 2020. According to
the Resolution Foundation, some working parents will be
more than £2,500 a year worse off. With child poverty
projected to rise dramatically over the next three years,
why do the Government continue to downplay the role of
income poverty in determining children’s future health, job
prospects and even life expectancy, in spite of all the
evidence?
-
I am not downplaying the role. I am talking about the
underlying causes and about making sure that we take a
range of measures across the board that help to eradicate
child poverty. That is the only sensible way to do it.
Simply focusing on individual incomes or, indeed,
individual benefits does not represent the whole realistic
picture. We need to be much more wide-ranging in our
approach.
-
Dr Whiteford
The Prime Minister has been talking over the weekend about
the pressures faced by people who are just getting by on
low and average incomes and about our shared
responsibilities to them. Those are fine sentiments, but
does the Secretary of State not accept that they sound
utterly hollow when the Government’s planned cuts to work
allowances will slash the incomes of exactly those families
who are just getting by? Does he accept that the Government
have a responsibility to support parents who are working
hard in average and low-paid jobs, rather than cutting
their already stretched, precarious incomes?
-
No. Indeed, I would point out to the hon. Lady that this
Government’s introduction of the national living wage last
year gave the lowest earners their biggest pay rise in 20
years—an increase of 6%. That is an example of a Government
measure introduced by employers. I cannot think of a better
early example of the shared society.
-
(Wirral West)
(Lab)
What assessment have the Government made of how many more
children will be pushed into poverty given the cuts to the
work allowance under universal credit?
-
As I have said to a number of hon. Members on both sides of
the House, the solution lies in a wider range of issues,
and that is what we are introducing. We have the social
justice Green Paper, about which I am sure we will have
many discussions in this House and elsewhere. The root is
making sure that as many people as possible can earn a
salary and work. I am sure that the hon. Lady, like me,
will welcome the fact that unemployment has come down by
53% in her constituency since 2010. That means thousands of
families who are able to work and control their own lives,
possibly working their way out of poverty. She ought to
welcome that.
-
It is a poor Government who fail to understand the value of
the nation’s children. In addition to the universal credit
work allowance cuts, this Government have abolished the
child poverty unit and frozen social security payments, and
are removing tax credits from third and subsequent
children. Does the Minister think child poverty will go up
or down as a result of those measures?
-
I have already given the hon. Lady a number of figures
relating both to adult poverty and child poverty—
-
Up or down?
-
Well, the fact is that since 2010 there are 100,000 fewer
children in relative poverty. I would hope that the hon.
Lady would welcome that and the fact that the child poverty
unit is now covering a much wider range of policies and is
based inside the Department for Work and Pensions.
Self-employment
-
Sir (Southend West) (Con)
8. What steps the Government are taking to support
self-employed people. [908062]
-
(North Cornwall)
(Con)
14. What steps the Government are taking to support
self-employed people. [908069]
-
(Morecambe and
Lunesdale) (Con)
21. What steps the Government are taking to support
self-employed people. [908076]
-
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Damian
Green)
This Government are committed to supporting new
enterprises. We are building on the success of the new
enterprise allowance, which has already supported 96,000
claimants to start a new business. From this year,
eligibility for NEA support will be extended to include
universal credit claimants who are already self-employed.
-
Sir
Will my right hon. Friend look again at the regulations
requiring small businesses and the self-employed to use
online systems for their tax affairs? Does he recognise
that these people often do not have the equipment,
knowledge or broadband capacity to download the complex
forms, and that the process often costs time and money?
-
I am happy to tell my hon. Friend that tax affairs are not
my direct responsibility, but the Treasury will have heard
what he had to say. What I can say is that Jobcentre Plus
is always keen to help small businesses with individual
problems they may have, such as with the use of online
forms, and I hope that businesses in his constituency would
find the jobcentre a helpful place to consult.
-
In Cornwall, unemployment has continued to fall year on
year to record low levels, and the county now has 61,000
self-employed people. Does my right hon. Friend agree that
only under a Conservative Government can we continue to
increase employment in Cornwall and further improve the
creation of small businesses in those communities?
-
My hon. Friend makes a good point, and I know that in his
constituency self-employment has increased by 7.6% since
2010. As I said in answer to previous questions, the UK
labour market is in its strongest position for years.
Clearly, the best way to promote new growth in jobs is to
promote growth in small businesses, and I am delighted to
hear it is going so well in Cornwall.
-
Does my right hon. Friend agree that universal credit can
help the self-employed, along with the other forms of
benefit the Government are putting forward for them,
because it can help people who are working as well as
trying to set up on their own?
-
One difference between universal credit and the previous
benefits it is replacing is that people can and do continue
to receive it when they are still in work. It is
particularly good at coping with people who may have
fluctuating earnings, as many self-employed people do,
because it can be flexible enough to adjust to that. The
introduction of universal credit is another brick of the
edifice of helping people to set up their own businesses.
-
(Bridgend) (Lab)
What is the Secretary of State going to do about people who
are classified as self-employed because of their contract
of employment? They are classified as such not because they
have set up their own small business, but because their
employer requires them to sign a contract saying that they
are self-employed, which means that they get no sick pay
and no annual leave. How is he going to help them?
-
I agree that that is an issue, which is precisely why we
have set up the review. It is
investigating precisely the new types of employment
structures that have been set up in recent years and making
sure that employment laws keep up with new types of
employment.
National Living Wage
-
(Romford)
(Con)
9. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of
the increase in the national living wage announced in the
autumn statement 2016 on levels of employment in the north
of England. [908063]
-
The Minister for Employment (Damian Hinds)
The number of people in employment in the north of England
has increased by 112,000 over the past year. The national
living wage has already given 1 million people a pay rise,
helping build an economy that works for all.
-
I thank the Minister for his reply, but has he considered
the implications of the national living wage coming in so
quickly for small and medium-sized businesses, particularly
those in the manufacturing sector? What would he say to
those businesses that will not be able to adjust in time,
or that simply will not be profitable because the national
living wage is being introduced so quickly?
-
Everybody should benefit from a strong economy, but as well
as introducing the national living wage the Government have
announced plans to reduce corporation tax further to 17%
and to increase the employment allowance, which could be
worth up to £3,000 a year.
-
(Stretford and Urmston)
(Lab)
Is it not perverse of the Government to have reduced work
allowances and universal credit at the same time as we have
seen increases in the national living wage, meaning that
the overall benefit to individuals in work is actually
reduced?
-
The Government have done a range of things. Universal
credit is completely different from the legacy benefits it
replaced, so it does not make sense to make a direct
comparison with tax credits. We have to see it in the
context of greater help with childcare and the introduction
of the national living wage. Of course, the increased
income tax personal allowance also means that people get to
keep more of what they earn.
-
(Shipley) (Con)
When my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr
Osborne) introduced the national living wage, the Office
for Budget Responsibility said that it would cost 60,000
jobs. Does the Minister think that that is a price worth
paying, or is that another forecast from expert economists
that we should ignore?
-
My hon. Friend is entirely correct about the OBR’s
projection at that time, but he will have noticed that that
came in the context of considerably larger projected
employment growth.
Mental Health
-
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Penny
Mordaunt)
We are investing significant resources, including
increasing coverage of Talking Therapy services by 600,000
people a year by 2020. Mental health is a key feature of
our Green Paper, “Improving Lives”, on which we are
currently consulting. I thank Members on both sides of the
House who came to our drop-in event on the Green Paper and
who are helping with the consultation.
-
I welcome the Minister’s response and the Prime Minister’s
intervention today on mental health. Does the Minister
agree that in order better to support those with mental
health conditions into the workplace, we need to transform
the way we deliver mental health services for young people
before they reach working age?
-
I agree with my hon. Friend absolutely. When I ask
healthcare professionals who work in Department for Work
and Pensions services what the single most significant
transformative healthcare intervention would be, they say
mental health support services for young people. The Prime
Minister’s announcement on that was very welcome.
-
(Liverpool, Wavertree)
(Lab/Co-op)
The “Five Year Forward View for Mental Health”, which was
published a year ago, contained two specific
recommendations for the Department for Work and Pensions,
one of which was on employment support. Will the Minister
update the House on the progress on that specific
recommendation?
-
There were two targets, but the Department has set out a
range of initiatives. Good progress has been made on all
fronts, including the development of specific mental health
support for the services we run, such as Access to Work.
Considerable work has been going on, as the Prime Minister
referred to earlier today, but she also said that we need
to pick up the pace on this issue, and I agree with her
absolutely.
-
(Glasgow North West)
(SNP)
The proposed closure of eight Glasgow job centres will
result in increased travel times and introduce further
barriers for people with mental health conditions who are
seeking help to get into work. How will the Minister ensure
that people with mental health conditions continue to
receive the help that they need?
-
My hon. Friend the Minister for Employment has met all the
MPs who are concerned about those locations across Glasgow,
and my hon. Friend the Minister for Welfare Reform has met
Scottish Ministers to discuss the issue. We are aware of
the concerns that Members have raised. If the hon. Lady has
any subsequent comments to make, she is more than welcome
to have meetings with either me or my colleagues.
-
(Oldham East and
Saddleworth) (Lab)
People with mental health conditions are more likely to
fail the work capability assessment and more likely to be
sanctioned. At the same time, we know from independent
research how damaging work capability assessments and
sanctions are for people’s mental health. The Prime
Minister made her announcements today, but when will the
Government take responsibility for the impact of their
policies on mental health and ensure that timely,
evidence-based support from trained mental health
professionals is available for claimants with mental health
conditions? Will the Secretary of State commit to scrapping
the work capability assessment and punitive sanctions, as
Labour has?
-
I refer the hon. Lady to three things: the Secretary of
State’s reform speech in which he announced that his focus
was on the particular issue of sanctions for people with
mental health conditions; obviously, the Prime Minister’s
statement today: and the Green Paper, a major tenet of
which is that we are consulting on the work capability
assessment—a Labour policy that is not delivering. I am
very pleased that enormous numbers of Labour MPs came to
our drop-in on this and will be helping us with the
consultation. This is an important issue, and we should get
it right.
Contracted-out Health Assessments
-
(Neath)
(Lab/Co-op)
11. What recent assessment he has made of the (a) accuracy
and (b) efficiency of contracted-out health assessments for
employment and support allowance and personal independence
payments. [908065]
-
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Penny
Mordaunt)
Over 93.5% of assessments for personal independence payment
and over 90% of work capability assessments for ESA are
deemed of acceptable quality through independent audit.
Those that are not deemed acceptable are returned to the
provider to be reworked. The Department closely monitors
all elements of providers’ performance and holds those
providers to account through their contracts.
-
Will the Minister consider introducing and funding the
mandatory use of body-worn cameras by all contracted-out
assessment providers, which will improve the accuracy and
efficiency of the much-disputed health assessment reports
and safeguard claimants and assessors, and which is proving
to be very successful when used by emergency services
across the UK?
-
There are detailed improvement plans for both PIP and ESA.
Another thing that is being considered is how assessments
are recorded. If the hon. Lady wants to write to me with
any specific suggestions, I will be very happy to look at
them.
-
(North Swindon)
(Con)
The vast majority of successful appeals are due to
additional late submitted evidence. What more can be done
to access and share medical evidence between health
professionals and assessors ahead of the appeals decision?
-
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He will know that the
Department has carried out a number of pilots to look at
being more lenient at the early stages of assessment to
give people time to get that health care information in
front of assessors. That move is paying dividends, and we
hope that it will be rolled out.
-
Several hon. Members rose—
-
Mr Speaker
Order. On this question, I would call on the hon. Member
for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (Corri Wilson) if she were
standing, but as she is not, I cannot.
-
(Ayr, Carrick and
Cumnock) (SNP)
rose—
-
Mr Speaker
As she is standing now, I will call on her.
-
23. I am afraid that many of my constituents have been
refused home assessments for personal independence
payments, and others have been unable to have their
assessments recorded at home with the DWP. Given that it
was recently reported that 61% of 90,000 claimants who
appealed against a PIP decision at the tribunal period up
to September 2016 won their case, will the Minister today
commit to a root-and-branch review of the assessment
process? [908078]
-
Although we are consulting on ESA, the Green Paper
consultation affords us the ability to look at PIP
assessments in the round and at a person’s whole journey. I
have previously said that we are looking at what more we
can do in recording assessments. If the hon. Lady knows of
cases where people need home assessments and they are not
getting them, I urge her to flag them up with me.
-
(Rossendale and Darwen)
(Con)
In my own constituency of Rossendale and Darwen, those who
are waiting for their PIP appeal to go through are having
to wait three, six or, in some cases, nine months to have
that appeal heard. Given that they receive no benefit
during this period and can lose their vital Motability car,
will the Minister tell us what efforts the Department will
make to speed up the appeal process?
-
I am sorry to hear that that is happening in my hon.
Friend’s constituency. That is a very unusual length of
time to be waiting for an appeal. If he would like to give
me the details of those cases, I would be happy to look at
them.
Motability
-
Ms (Wallasey) (Lab)
13. Whether his Department plans to publish data on the
number of people who have lost their Motability scheme
vehicle following their reassessment for personal
independence payments. [908068]
-
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Penny
Mordaunt)
Motability is an independent charity responsible for its
own management information, including what data it
publishes. There are 70,000 more people with a Motability
car than there were in 2010.
-
Ms Eagle
My constituent Evelyn Campbell had her Motability car
removed on 20 December following a PIP assessment, leaving
her housebound and distressed over Christmas. It will take
months for her appeal to be heard. In the meantime, her car
has been sold. Is this not another cruel policy from this
Government? Given that 60% of PIP appeals are successful
and that the cars have to be reprovided, is it not also a
totally false economy?
-
Those who lose their vehicle receive transitional support
through Motability, including the right to buy the vehicle
and a £2,000 lump sum. Although only a small proportion of
PIP decisions are appealed and overturned—
-
Ms Eagle
It is 60%.
-
That is of those going to appeal, not the case load. I am
exploring a range of options to support claimants pending
appeal, and I will be working closely with Motability on
this.
-
Mr (Wellingborough)
(Con)
I am encouraged by what the excellent Minister has just
said. The key point is that I do not think the car should
be withdrawn until the appeal process has finished. As it
is only a small number, as the Minister has said, could she
be encouraged to look at that route?
-
We are looking at this issue. We are also looking at those
who might wish to travel overseas, for whatever reason,
whether for work or a travel option, and we are working
very closely with Motability to see what can be done in
those instances.
Topical Questions
-
(North Cornwall)
(Con)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental
responsibilities. [908095]
-
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Damian
Green)
As part of the comprehensive package of reforms to improve
mental health support announced by the Prime Minister this
morning, my Department will be undertaking an expert-led
review on how best to ensure that employees with mental
health problems can be supported. That will involve
practical help, including promoting best practice among
employers and making available free tools to businesses to
assist with employee wellbeing. We will also be conducting
an internal review of discrimination in the workplace
against people with mental health conditions. Those reviews
will build on our Green Paper consultation to help
establish the evidence base around mental health and
employment.
-
I welcome the news that 95,000 businesses have been helped
by the new enterprise allowance. Can the Minister tell me
how many of those are in North Cornwall, or in Cornwall as
a whole?
-
I too welcome those figures. I can tell my hon. Friend that
the new enterprise allowance has helped to create nearly
100 new businesses in North Cornwall since it began. We are
moving to a second phase, beginning this April, with an
improved NEA. Since it began, over one in five businesses
supported by the NEA have been started by disabled
entrepreneurs, which is an extremely encouraging
development.
-
(Stockton North)
(Lab)
It was great to hear earlier that there is consensus on the
need to implement in full the Financial Conduct Authority’s
recommendations on transparency in pension scheme costs. We
hope that will be soon, and we will hold the Government and
the Minister to account on that.
Let us try another subject. Labour is committed to the
state pension triple lock. Are the Government?
-
The Government are committed to the triple lock for the
whole of this Parliament.
-
(Waveney) (Con)
T3. Waveney District Council has been working proactively
with the Department for Work and Pensions to support the
roll-out of full-service universal credit. Although the
council has committed considerable resources to the work,
local people are still facing challenges. Can the Secretary
of State assure me that his Department will urgently seek
to resolve those issue that have been raised constructively
by the council and other authorities through the national
steering group? [908098]
-
I am happy to give my hon. Friend that assurance. He and I
have exchanged correspondence on this—he may not yet have
received a letter from me offering a meeting with my hon.
Friend the Minister for Employment. We absolutely want to
work through any teething issues with local councils.
-
Mr (Sheffield South East)
(Lab)
T2. The Motor Neurone Disease Association and Parkinson’s
UK have welcomed Government proposals to scrap reassessment
of ESA for people with severe lifelong conditions. The
Secretary of State has described that reassessment as
pointless, bureaucratic nonsense. Will the Government
therefore now agree also to scrap reassessments in the same
circumstances for people with lifelong conditions for PIP
and continuing healthcare? [908096]
-
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Penny
Mordaunt)
PIP is slightly different. For example, someone’s needs
might increase and they need a reassessment to receive more
support under PIP. The Green Paper affords us the
opportunity to look at all these things together. I think
there are opportunities for PIP perhaps to have a lighter
assessment, but we need to get the whole process right.
-
(Loughborough)
(Con)
T7. I wrote to the Pensions Minister on 16 December about
my constituent, Ruth Saunders, who drew to my attention the
fact that there are certain defined-benefit pension schemes
where increases are not being paid for amounts paid in
before April 1997. He very kindly responded on 5 January.
The point is that there is discrimination because only 10%
to 15% of companies are not paying these increases. The
issue is whether the amount can be corrected going forward.
I would suggest that this is one of the burning injustices
that the Prime Minister was talking about, and I would like
a meeting with the Minister and my constituent to discuss
the issue further. [908102]
-
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions
(Richard Harrington)
I would be delighted to have a meeting with my right hon.
Friend and her constituent.
-
(Fermanagh and South
Tyrone) (UUP)
T4. The Government have thus far been reluctant to consider
the fair transitional arrangements for the WASPI women, who
have been unfairly disadvantaged by the changes to the
women’s state pension age. What action is the Secretary of
State taking at present and what changes does he propose?
[908099]
-
As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, the Government have
given £1.1 billion of transitional relief for WASPI women.
The issue has been discussed in this House very many times
and the Government have no plans to do anything further in
that respect.
-
(Amber Valley)
(Con)
T9. Will the Minister reassure Leonard Cheshire Disability,
which has a base in my constituency, that the welcome move
to the Work and Health programme will not result in a large
reduction in funding to help disabled people get back into
work? [908104]
-
I can give my hon. Friend those reassurances. We are
absolutely committed to closing the disability employment
gap. We are picking up the pace on the programmes we are
running, and asking businesses and employers to do more.
-
Mr (Delyn) (Lab)
T5. The Government have pledged to halve that disability
employment gap by 2020. However, I would like to know what
the Government have been doing recently to look at the
impact of job cuts on the public sector. A third of the
redundancies at the Equality and Human Rights Commission
involve people with disabilities. [908100]
-
The right hon. Gentleman will know that the disability
employment gap has been closing under both this Government
and the coalition Government. We recognise that we need to
do more, and I think the public sector can do more. Part of
that is identifying particular roles that individuals can
take up. The Government are picking up the pace on the
issue and we are in a much better situation than the one
that existed under the previous Labour Government.
-
(Bath) (Con)
I welcome the fact that more than 1 million more women are
in employment now than in 2010, but will the Minister
confirm what the Government are doing to support women with
children who might find it difficult to return to work
because of childcare responsibilities?
-
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Welfare
Delivery (Caroline Nokes)
Our aim is to help parents to get into a job that fits
around their caring responsibilities, which is why we are
doubling the amount of free childcare offered to working
parents to 30 hours a week. Last year, we spent a record £5
billion supporting parents with the costs of childcare and
the figure will rise to more than £6 billion by 2020.
-
(Inverclyde)
(SNP)
T6. Finland has become the first country in Europe to pay
its unemployed citizens unconditional monthly sums with the
aim of boosting employment and reducing poverty. When will
the UK Government fund research into similar schemes such
as a universal basic income? [908101]
-
As I understand it, the Finnish scheme is a small pilot in
a local area. I have read a lot of the literature—it is
clearly an interesting idea—all of which suggests that that
kind of scheme is fantastically expensive and that some of
the losers from it are those who are on the lowest incomes
at the moment. The polite response is that I am unconvinced
by the proposal.
-
(Boston and Skegness)
(Con)
Seasonal agricultural workers have benefited from
auto-enrolment into pensions, but many accrue only very
small pension pots. What can the Government do to ensure
that the bureaucratic burden does not fall
disproportionately on the employers of these vital workers?
-
My hon. Friend brings up a very good point. The Government
have to find a balance between wanting as many people as
possible to have pensions, and economic sense when there is
an impact on employers. My officials have discussed the
issue with the National Farmers Union. We understand it and
it will be looked into in the course of the 2017 review.
-
(Ilford South)
(Lab/Co-op)
T8. How can the Government meet their target to reduce the
disability employment gap—in fact, to halve it— when they
are cutting by 80% the resources available to do that? Are
those not just empty words? [908103]
-
I think the hon. Gentleman is confused: we are actually
putting more resources into these initiatives, and also
asking others to do more. Obviously, we are consulting in
the Green Paper, but even some of the announcements the
Prime Minister made today included additional resource. We
very much want to meet that target, and we are putting the
resources and the policies in place to do that.
-
Dr (Twickenham)
(Con)
Last month, I asked the Government to introduce mandatory
video recording of all DWP employment and support allowance
assessments because a constituent of mine in Twickenham was
treated with less respect than the character in the
fictional film “I, Daniel Blake”. When will mandatory video
recording commence?
-
We are looking at a range of issues to improve the
assessment process for PIP and ESA and the person’s
experience of it. The recording of assessments is one of
those things, so we are looking at that issue.
-
(Aberdeen South)
(SNP)
For many young people, staying in the family home is not an
option, so housing benefit is a lifeline not a lifestyle
choice. When will the Government finally clarify how their
scheme will not see these people lose vital support?
-
The regulations regarding the removal of housing benefit
from 18 to 21-year-olds have yet to be published. We will
provide full details, particularly of the exemptions that
will be involved, in March.
-
(Corby) (Con)
I would like to say thank you to the scores of businesses
in Corby and east Northamptonshire that provide important
work experience opportunities for our young people. These
introductions to the world of work are crucial, so will
Ministers continue to make sure they remain at the
forefront of cross-departmental discussions?
-
The Minister for Employment (Damian Hinds)
We know that one of the most important things in being able
to get a job is to have had a job and to have demonstrated
employability skills. Specifically on the work experience
placements we do through Jobcentre Plus, people spend 49
days longer on average in employment as a result of having
done one, so the answer to my hon. Friend’s question is
yes.
-
(Normanton, Pontefract
and Castleford) (Lab)
May I urge the Secretary of State personally to review what
is happening to the Motability scheme? Some 41,000 people
have had their cars taken away as a result of PIP
assessments, including a severely disabled Castleford
constituent who now cannot get to work and may be about to
lose her job, and a Pontefract constituent with metal rods
in her joints who now cannot get out of the house and is at
risk of slipping into depression as a result. On the day
when the Prime Minister rightly raised the issue of mental
health injustice, will he take seriously the serious impact
on people’s mental health of being isolated in this way?
-
I am happy to assure the right hon. Lady that we are
looking very closely at the whole Motability scheme, which,
as she knows, is an independent charity. We have formed a
working group to look at the various issues that gave rise
to it, so we are looking at this very carefully.
-
(Leeds West)
(Lab)
Following on from the question from my right hon. Friend
the Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford (Yvette
Cooper), my constituent Ms Brookes, who has limited
mobility because of a stroke, received a Motability car
last year, and that car was a lifeline. Last week, the car
was removed from her, and she is now struggling to get her
children to school and then to get to work. She is
appealing the decision, and I hope she will win, but in the
meantime she is finding it incredibly hard to manage her
disability as well as her responsibilities as an employee
and, more importantly, a mother. Will the Minister look at
this case as a matter of urgency to ensure that my
constituent gets the help and support she needs?
-
I would be happy to look at the particular case the hon.
Lady raises. We are looking at that issue in the Motability
scheme, but also at other issues that mean that people are
perhaps not able to take up work or travel opportunities.
We recently met Motability on these issues and have formed
a working group with it to work through them. We hope to be
able to make some announcements very soon.
-
(Leyton and Wanstead)
(Lab)
Indicators of child poverty are important, as the Secretary
of State said earlier, but so are targets. Will he
therefore agree to adopt the provisions in the Bill
presented by my hon. Friend the Member for Barnsley Central
(Dan Jarvis), which would establish statutory targets for
the reduction of child poverty?
-
That is the old-fashioned approach which is not necessarily
the best way forward. Having the whole range of issues that
can give rise to child poverty addressed by Government
policy is the best way to do it. I look forward to the hon.
Gentleman’s response to the social justice Green Paper that
we will publish in the coming months.
-
Dr (Tooting)
(Lab)
In the London borough of Wandsworth that houses my
constituency, last year there was a 25% increase in food
bank use. Shockingly, almost 50% of these users are
children. Do the Government agree that this is an absolute
disgrace, and what will they do to assure us in this House
today that the children and adults of Tooting shall no
longer have to rely on food bank use?
-
As I said in response to previous questions, the best route
out of poverty is work, and one of the great successes of
the economic policy of this Government has been that more
people are at work, more women are at work, and fewer
children are growing up in workless households than ever
before. I just wish that Labour Members would accept that
getting more people into work and reducing unemployment is
the best attack on poverty that any Government can make.
-
Stewart Malcolm McDonald (Glasgow South) (SNP)
It is now four weeks since the Employment Minister promised
Members of Parliament from Glasgow data on the new
boundaries by which he wants to close half the city’s
jobcentres—so where is that information?
-
I met the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues, and we had a
Westminster Hall debate as well. I committed to a number of
things, one of which was that we would have an online
consultation, and that is indeed proceeding. As I said to
him and his colleagues when we met, if there is other
information that they want to bring forward, I am
absolutely sure that they will do so.
-
(Bradford East)
(Lab)
There are 13,000 children in my constituency living in
poverty—almost a third of the total poverty figure for the
whole district—so will the Minister explain to my
constituents his decision to close the child poverty unit?
-
The main function of the child poverty unit was to support
Ministers in meeting the Child Poverty Act 2010, which has
now been superseded by the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016,
whereby the response specifically to poverty is being led by
my Department, so the unit is now working inside the
Department for Work and Pensions. That is the straightforward
answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question.
-
(Livingston)
(SNP)
Does the Secretary of State have any new year’s resolutions?
If not, perhaps I can help him out: he could resolve to make
sure that no one is sanctioned at Christmas. Will he review
the operations of his Department, as I asked him before
Christmas, to make sure that nobody goes without over the
festive period?
-
My new year’s resolution is, as ever, to make sure that my
Department continues its successful work in getting ever more
people into work, and to make sure that we have a benefits
system that helps people to get into work and a pensions
system that provides security and dignity in old age.
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