Unemployment: Mental Ill Health Liz Twist (Blaydon) (Lab) 1. What
steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of people
who are out of work owing to mental ill health.(903182) The
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mel Stride) The
Department for Work and Pensions provides specialist help for those
who are suffering from mental ill health, both through the Access
to Work scheme and by funding advisers in the NHS Improving Access
to...Request free trial
Unemployment: Mental Ill Health
(Blaydon) (Lab)
1. What steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number
of people who are out of work owing to mental ill
health.(903182)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ()
The Department for Work and Pensions provides specialist help for
those who are suffering from mental ill health, both through the
Access to Work scheme and by funding advisers in the NHS
Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services in
England.
Since 2019, economic inactivity due to mental illness and nervous
disorders has increased by 22%. People with mental ill health
need support in order to get back into work, and Access to Work
grants are a vital resource in helping to ensure that they have
that support, but in the past year alone waiting times have
doubled and the size of the backlog has trebled. People have been
forced to turn down jobs that they want to do because they cannot
gain access to the support and flexibility they need. What will
the Government do to address those delays?
The hon. Lady is right: there is an issue with economic
inactivity, which is why the Prime Minister has tasked me with
reviewing this entire area, including the matters that she has
rightly raised. We will, in due course, publish a White Paper to
address some of those matters.
(Ipswich) (Con)
On Friday I had the great pleasure of visiting the New Skill
Centre in south-east Ipswich. It is run by a community interest
company that works closely with adults with a range of health and
learning disabilities. I was amazed at what I saw. Much of what
the centre does involves helping adults to live independently,
but some of the carpentry and artwork I saw was so good that I
think that many of those people may get back into work. Does the
Minister agree that the moral of the story is that we should
never give up on people, that we should never write them off and
stop working with them to enable them to achieve their true
potential, and that we should support organisations that help
them to do so?
My hon. Friend is entirely right, and I commend him for the huge
amount of work that he does in his constituency in this regard.
There is no doubt that the conditions of those who suffer from
mental health issues are often dramatically improved when they
can get into work, hold down a job and benefit from all that
working provides.
(Barnsley Central) (Lab)
As the Mayor of South Yorkshire, I worked alongside Mayor in the west midlands to
introduce Working Win, a pilot employment scheme designed to help
people with mental and physical health challenges to get into or
stay in work. In South Yorkshire the pilot has been very
successful, smashing all targets and helping 2,500 people to get
into work. I understand that the Department is considering
whether the scheme could be rolled out nationally. Can the
Secretary of State guarantee that the funding will be maintained
in the interim?
I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman has raised the subject of
this pilot, which I agree is hugely important. We are looking
closely at the results, including the effect not only on mental
health but on productivity. As he will know, £7 million has been
invested so far.
(Preseli Pembrokeshire)
(Con)
I thank my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and my right
hon. Friend the Prime Minister for the leadership they are
showing on this issue. They are exactly right: it is the increase
in the number of, in particular, younger workers dropping out of
the labour market owing to mental ill health that is driving the
increase in economic inactivity. As he prepares the White Paper,
will my right hon. Friend keep the focus on how a close link with
the employment support agency and the labour market can be
maintained? Once someone leaves the labour market and is out of
work for an extended period, it becomes far less likely that they
will ever make it back.
My right hon. Friend has great experience in these matters, and
he too is entirely right. It is essential for the Department to
do whatever it can at the early stages to support those with
mental health issues who are already in work, particularly those
who are in danger of falling out of work, so that we do not end
up seeing more and more people experiencing longer-term absence
from employment.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Wirral South) (Lab)
I think the Secretary of State should be embarrassed today, what
with the Prime Minister scrabbling around to reannounce tiny bits
of funding to put a sticking plaster over the levels of mental
ill health in our country in order to distract attention from the
dreadful behaviour of his colleagues. The Secretary of State has
mentioned the Access to Work scheme, and we have heard from my
hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon () just how difficult it is to
gain access to that scheme at present and to secure an award. One
would be forgiven for thinking that nothing works in this
country, not even the schemes that are supposed to help people to
obtain work. Will the Secretary of State tell us how many people
are currently waiting for Access to Work to help them?
I would be very happy to write to the hon. Lady on exactly how
many people are waiting for access to that scheme. We should not
in any way play down the importance of the Access to Work scheme,
which is highly successful and provides up to nine months of
support for those who badly need it. On recent announcements
being made on the hoof, as the hon. Lady seemed to suggest, we
have been supporting those in such situations for many years and
have made much progress over so many years to get those with
mental health issues and wider disabilities into employment.
The Secretary of State says that we should not play down the
importance of Access to Work, but he does not even know how many
people are waiting for a decision. The charity Scope says that
the number of disabled people waiting for a decision on their
award in March 2022 was nearly 21,000. That is an increase of
327% on the same point the previous year. That is dreadful.
Nothing works in this country. When will the Secretary of State
sort it out?
I stand by, and make no apology for, our record on encouraging
disabled people back into work. We were set a target for
dramatically increasing the employment level for disabled people
by 2027. We met that target of 1 million new disabled people in
work a full five years early. I think that record speaks for
itself.
Social Security Payments: Cost of Living
(Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
(SNP)
2. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of social
security payments in the context of increases in the cost of
living.(903183)
Brendan O’Hara (Argyll and Bute) (SNP)
9. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of social
security payments in the context of increases in the cost of
living.(903192)
(Glasgow North) (SNP)
10. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of social
security payments in the context of increases in the cost of
living.(903193)
(Edinburgh South West)
(SNP)
13. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of social
security payments in the context of increases in the cost of
living.(903198)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
The Department has completed the statutory annual review led by
the Secretary of State on the levels of state pension and
benefits. The outcome of the review was confirmed in a written
ministerial statement tabled on 17 November last year. Benefits
and pensions will increase by 10.1% in April, subject to
parliamentary approval. We understand the pressures that people
are facing, which is why this Government have provided cost of
living support worth more than £37 billion in 2022-23. In
addition, more than £1 billion will be provided in 2023-24
through further cost of living payments.
While the Scottish Government are using their devolved powers to
support families through anti-poverty measures such as the
Scottish child payment, the Tory Government’s changes to the
universal credit administrative earnings threshold will mean that
600,000 more people will risk having their vital payments
sanctioned. Instead of preventing vulnerable families from
receiving the vital social security to which they are entitled
when they need it most, will the UK Government follow Scotland’s
lead and match the child payment UK-wide?
The hon. Gentleman talks about the Scottish child payment. The
DWP is actively working with the Scottish Government to support
its delivery, including by providing data through the Scotland
Act 2016. I know that the hon. Gentleman has been holding cost of
living events in his constituency. To his credit, he has been
working with local jobcentres and the DWP to help people at this
difficult time, which I applaud. The anecdotal evidence that I
have of the AET changes, from visiting jobcentres, has been
incredibly positive. People understand that they can earn more,
take on more hours and fill vacancies, and that work is the best
route out of poverty.
Brendan O’Hara
We on the SNP Benches have long called out this Government’s many
poverty-inducing policies, such as the benefit cap, the five-week
wait and the brutal sanctions regime, which contribute further to
debt when people are barely surviving the cost of living crisis.
Now, the Conservative think-tank Bright Blue—backed by some on
the Government Benches—has said that the welfare system is not
providing people with enough support and has called for the
introduction of a minimum income. If the Minister will not listen
to us, will she at least listen to her friends at Bright
Blue?
I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that issue. I will be very
interested in the outcome of the work that the Scottish
Government have been doing on the Scottish child payment system,
taking the powers that have been devolved to the Scottish
Government to support and link into their communities—that is
absolutely what devolution is, and I will be following the
outcome. But I reiterate that the work that goes on in his
constituency and in the jobcentres that serve his community is
also about people progressing through work, and that benefits are
not the route out of poverty.
Food prices rose by 16.8% in the year to December, according to
the Office for National Statistics, and that disproportionately
affects households with children, particularly women-led,
single-parent households. Given that the Government spent most of
last week saying that they wanted to protect the rights of women
and children, can the Minister explain how they are protecting
the rights of the women and children in the 787,000 households
affected by their two-child policy and the associated rape
clause?
Personally, I find the term “rape clause” obnoxious and
completely inappropriate. I absolutely do not mind standing up
for women, either at this Dispatch Box or outside the Chamber. On
supporting families, we are acting, with Barnett consequentials,
to support families to progress, whether through interventions
such as the national living wage or on the cost of living. I am
proud to be the Minister bringing forward the next stage of
household support funds and the cost of living Bill. We are not
leaving families behind. We are determined to help make work pay
and ensure that we fill these sectors’ vacancies and
opportunities in the whole of the United Kingdom.
Many of my Edinburgh South West constituents were already
suffering from policies such as the two-child limit and the
failure to reverse the cut in universal credit before the cost of
living crisis hit home. In its recent submission to the United
Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Human
Rights Watch gave a damning review of the United Kingdom
Government’s restrictive social security policies, saying that
they have a negative impact on the right to an adequate standard
of living, to food and to housing for families with children. So,
given the times that we are in and given that we are in the full
thrust of our cost of living crisis at present, should not the
Government be scrapping these policies?
Over 8 million households on eligible means -tested benefits will
receive additional cost of living payments up to a total of £900
in the year 2023-24, with more to come. The Government are
committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families,
and we will spend £111 billion on welfare support for working-age
people between 2022 and 2023. But let us balance this up, because
progression is not only about benefits. I say this as a former
Employment Minister, and with the current Minister for
Employment, my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (), sitting near me. With 1.16 million vacancies
across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting families, both
in and out of work, to progress in work.
(Tatton) (Con)
While understanding the concerns of Opposition Members, can I ask
the Minister, when making changes to the benefits system, always
to be mindful of ensuring that work pays, given the need to get
more people back into the workforce?
My right hon. Friend is right. Whether it is cutting the taper
rate, managing the AET, looking at in-work progression or
focusing on people dropping out of the labour market at 50-plus,
and whether it involves single parents such as myself or other
people who need help to progress in work, we are focused on work
paying. That should always the balance.
(Chipping Barnet)
(Con)
A crucial way to help people in the benefits system is to get
inflation down, so can I urge the Government to ensure that they
deliver the reduction in inflation that we desperately need?
My right hon. Friend is exactly right. We have heard about the
cost of living challenge, but this is a global challenge; it is
not only for us. We absolutely need to work together so that
every family is doing better.
(Broadland) (Con)
The best solution for low-income families is not increases in
universal credit but access to better-paid employment, so will
the Minister join me in encouraging the 1,130 universal credit
claimants in Broadland to come to my jobs fair on 10 March at
Taverham High School?
I love a jobs fair; I have another one coming up in March in my
own constituency of Mid Sussex. Opening up opportunities for
people just down the road can often make the difference, and I
applaud my hon. Friend for doing this. Every Member should be
having their own jobs fair.
(Kettering) (Con)
Will the Minister join me in congratulating and thanking the
volunteers at citizens advice bureaux, especially the one in
Kettering, for the work they do to help people access cost of
living payment support? What more can the Government do to
signpost people to the unprecedented level of support that is
available?
I thank my hon. Friend for raising the wonderful work of Citizens
Advice, which does so much in Kettering and across the country,
and indeed delivers our Help to Claim service. The benefits
calculator on gov.uk and Help for Households can also support
people; many do not know those resources are there. We are
absolutely here for people and there is more out there. I will
ensure that the household support fund is clearly branded and
reaches people who may be just managing.
(Glasgow East) (SNP)
The Minister seemed to be appalled by the reference of my hon.
Friend the Member for Glasgow North () to the rape clause, so let
us use its Sunday name: the non-consensual sex exemption, as the
Government like to call it. Is she genuinely comfortable with a
Government who ask survivors of rape to prove that their child
has been born as a result of sexual assault? The reality is that,
with the limited devolution powers we have for social security,
we have the game-changing Scottish child payment, while this
Government ask women to prove that their children have been born
as a result of rape just to get state support. Given that the
Labour party has departed from many of its policies and is a pale
imitation of the Tories, is it not the case that the only way to
ensure that we have a decent social security system is with
independence?
We should be very careful with our language in this regard. It is
absolutely right that people in every single circumstance can
come forward positively, but labelling the provision in that way
in the Chamber is not helpful—[Interruption.] It is not about
whether it is our policy; that terminology is unhelpful.
Universal credit is always tailored to individual circumstances.
If anybody would like to come forward with anything that has
happened to them, jobcentres are a safe place in which to declare
domestic abuse or ask for support. I say to those people: please
do step forward, as we have the J9 initiative and other ways to
support people.
Incentivising Return to the Labour Market
(Norwich North) (Con)
4. What steps his Department is taking to incentivise people to
return to the labour market.(903185)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ()
As the House will be aware, I am currently reviewing economic
inactivity—it is not satisfactory that we currently have almost 9
million people who are economically inactive—and I will be come
back to the House in due course with various measures.
I welcome that work and wish my right hon. Friend well in
concluding his review. Many disabled people and people with
long-term health conditions want to work and we should help them
to do so. Does he agree that the current health and disability
benefits can pose a financial disincentive against trying work,
and that it is right for us to look again at providing better
support?
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. May I just say how
helpful it is that, having left the Department, she continues to
show such a positive and constructive interest in the matter? She
is entirely right that we need to focus on what people can do
when they are disabled, rather than on what they cannot do. That
will be very much at the heart of the White Paper.
(Warley) (Lab)
The Secretary of State has just said that we should be focusing
on what people can do. One key to getting older people back into
work is for employers—public and private—to value experience as
much as paper qualifications, and in particular not to insist on
degrees and A-levels unless they are strictly relevant. He could
even take up my private Member’s Bill, the Employment
(Application Requirements) Bill, to bring that about.
I would, of course, be happy to look at the right hon.
Gentleman’s private Member’s Bill. He makes an important point,
which is that we have to ensure that employers see disabled
people with eyes wide open—their abilities and the contribution
they can make. That is why we promote Disability Confident, and
why we have so many work coaches up and down the country focusing
on just that.
Pension Credit
(Wantage) (Con)
5. What steps his Department is taking to encourage eligible
pensioners to apply for pension credit.(903186)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
I hope hon. Members know that pension credit take-up is a
priority for me and for the Government. Our £1.2 million
communications campaign has been ongoing since April. We had a
huge push before Christmas, ahead of the cost of living payments,
and I am grateful to the many hon. Members who came to the
drop-in session. In addition, I know that my hon. Friend does a
huge amount of work in his constituency to boost take-up.
I was pleased to support my hon. Friend’s campaign to increase
the uptake of pension credit in the run-up to Christmas. Will she
update the House as to whether or not that has been a success and
whether we have seen an increase in uptake?
I am delighted to tell the House that we saw 7,200 claims in the
week commencing 12 December, which is a 177% increase on the
previous year. I thank all hon. Members who have worked hard in
their constituencies to make this happen.
(Putney) (Lab)
According to research from the Law Centres Network’s recent
pension credit report, nearly 60% of respondents said that they
waited between three and six months for claims to be processed. A
constituent of mine has been waiting six months and losing out
during that time. Will the Minister address the Pension Service’s
processing failure and take steps to bring the average time it
takes to deal with claims for pension credit down to the target
time of six weeks?
I am concerned to hear of that individual case and if the hon.
Lady would like to write to me, I will look into it. More
broadly, we know that there have been delays; that is partly
because the number of claims doubled in 2022. I am pleased to say
that in February we expect claim waiting times to get back to
normal, but I will, of course, report back to the House on how we
are doing on that.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Reading East) (Lab)
Nearly 1 million pensioners are not receiving pension credit to
which they are entitled. To make matters worse, each of those 1
million pensioners is also missing out on a £900 payment from the
Government to help them with heating, as the payment is available
only to those on pension credit. Why have the Government been so
ineffective at raising the take-up of pension credit? Will she
also explain why on earth they linked help with heating to
pension credit when they knew that 1 million pensioners would
miss out as a result?
I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s interest in pension credit. I
hope he will have heard my previous answer about all we are doing
to boost take-up and indeed the success that we had before
Christmas. I have spoken to him previously about the work we are
doing to automate it and make greater use of data; this is an
absolute priority for me and for this Government.
Support for Care Leavers: Housing
(Plymouth, Sutton and
Devonport) (Lab/Co-op)
6. If his Department will introduce support for care leavers
purchasing their first home. (903187)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
This Department is rightly prioritising the needs of care
leavers, by simplifying their interaction with the benefit system
and helping them into work, so they can progress and thrive in
employment. The DWP does not provide direct support to
prospective house buyers; households can access Government-backed
schemes, such as Help to Buy and the right to buy.
I thank the Minister for that answer. It is a privilege to be
working with Barnardo’s and care leavers in Plymouth in making
the case that every young person leaving local authority care
should have a home of their own, ideally one to be rented
straightaway so that they do not fall back into emergency care.
Many of these young people have been through awful experiences.
Will the Minister set out what additional steps by her Department
could help set up a guarantor scheme and provide help with the
first rental deposit so that these young people do not miss out
on a home when they leave local authority care?
I visited Plymouth to see the exemplary youth hub and partnership
work—which includes some great tourism tips—in June 2022. I thank
the hon. Gentleman for his work alongside Barnardo’s; the
Secretary of State and I look forward to meeting and discussing
more next week. I believe that some local authorities, such as
Kent County Council, have a successful rent guarantor scheme and
I encourage others in doing this. I will look at this matter
carefully.
(North Wiltshire) (Con)
I very much agree with the points that the hon. Member for
Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport () is making. In my
constituency, the problem is that the house prices are incredibly
high and that that is coupled with a squeeze on the private
rented sector, thanks to recent tax changes on private landlords.
This means that care leavers in a place such as Wiltshire have
little chance of staying where they come from and were born. What
more can the Government do to find ways of encouraging these
people to stay in their home area and helping them with it?
I thank my hon. Friend for raises these issues, which we have
around the country. Let me assure the House that the Department
for Education is looking at how it can encourage more local
authorities to develop similar offers to care leavers, which was
part of an independent review of children’s social care. That is
part of the work that I, and the housing taskforce, are doing on
housing, and I am keen to look at it.
Cost of Living: Impact on People with Parkinson’s Disease
(Bootle) (Lab)
7. What steps he is taking to help tackle the disproportionate
impact of the cost of living crisis on people with Parkinson’s
disease. (903190)
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work ()
Six million people receiving an eligible disability benefit
received a £150 disability cost of living payment last year, and
will receive a further £150 cost of living payment later this
year. This is in addition to other Government support, such as up
to £900 for those on a qualifying means-tested benefit.
I thank the Minister for his answer. According to a Parkinson’s
UK survey, people with Parkinson’s disease will pay an extra
£1,196 in heating costs to manage symptoms. Those receiving the
£150 disability cost of living payment are already £1,000 a year
out of pocket, so will the Minister meet me and representatives
of Parkinson’s UK to discuss this very important issue?
I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. We
have worked together constructively on issues in the past, and I
would certainly be delighted to meet him on this occasion to
discuss this important issue. Of course, one point that I would
make is that many people who are receiving the disability cost of
living payment will also be receiving other elements of the
Government’s cost of living package, but I am happy to talk to
the hon. Gentleman about his views on this particular issue.
(Bexleyheath and Crayford)
(Con)
We all know, including the Minister, how disabling and terrible
Parkinson’s disease is—members of my own family have suffered
from it. I therefore urge my hon. Friend the Minister to keep in
mind the extra costs of heating that the hon. Member for Bootle
() has referred to, which these
people need to keep their mobility. We should do anything that
can be done to help them overcome and live with this awful
affliction.
I thank my right hon. Friend for making that point. Those
additional costs that people with conditions such as Parkinson’s
often experience are something that I am incredibly mindful of.
The Government are committed to having a look at the issue of
social tariffs, and I will be meeting with the Energy Minister,
my right hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness
(), to talk about that issue. I
will also take this opportunity to signpost the household support
fund, which is a discretionary fund that is there to help,
through local authorities and on a discretionary basis, where
needs are not necessarily being met through the wider
package.
State Pension Age: Women
(Edinburgh West) (LD)
8. Whether his Department plans to take steps to compensate women
affected by changes in the state pension age.(903191)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
State pension age equalisation has been the policy of successive
Governments, and as the hon. Lady knows, the phasing in of state
pension age increases was agreed to by her party in 2011 and
2014.
One of the very first issues raised with me by constituents when
I was elected in 2017 was the inequality faced by women born in
the 1950s, yet in the almost six years since then, this
Government have done nothing to fix that. Given that the
ombudsman has concluded that the Department for Work and Pensions
was at fault in its administration, will the Government commit to
fulfilling the ombudsman’s recommendations? In the meantime, will
the Minister encourage the Scottish Government to use the powers
they have to alleviate the suffering of such women?
As the hon. Lady knows, the ombudsman’s investigation is ongoing,
so unfortunately I cannot comment further—other than what is in
the public domain—at this stage.
(Gloucester) (Con)
Of course, the other side of the coin, whether for females or
males, is to not leave the workplace too soon. Will my hon.
Friend therefore support my initiative to work with our excellent
Gloucester Jobcentre Plus in holding an event specifically for
the over-50s, both females and males, to see what opportunities
our local employers can come forward with? Would one of the
Ministers perhaps join me there to support that initiative?
My hon. Friend does sterling work in his constituency.
[Interruption.] The Minister for Employment, my hon. Friend the
Member for Hexham (), has just indicated that he would be delighted to
join my hon. Friend in Gloucester.
Universal Credit Recipients
(Chelmsford) (Con)
11. What steps he is taking to support people in receipt of
universal credit with increasing (a) their level of pay and (b)
access to one-on-one appointments with a work coach.(903195)
The Minister for Employment ()
We want people to work more, and ideally come off benefits—as we
all know, UC progression means that work always pays more. To
enable that, we have created in-work progression support that
provides over 1.6 million more claimants with access to work
support.
In Chelmsford and across Essex, job coaches have been running a
new initiative to support working people on universal credit to
gain more income, which is proving highly successful. Many people
have been supported to increase their skills and therefore their
hourly pay rate; other people who were working part time have
increased their hours. May I urge the Government to first,
provide more out-of-hours training for those in work; secondly,
offer more discretionary spending to enable those in work to
attend those training courses; and thirdly, help to roll out the
lessons learned from Essex across the country?
It is true that Essex is a pioneer of our in-work progression
offer; I spoke to one of the job coaches doing that in Essex only
this morning. We are recruiting senior district progression leads
who will work with local skills providers to ensure that there is
appropriate training for in-work claimants. Bluntly, the Essex
profile, along with the other volunteer organisations, will be
going out to the entire country by the end of March 2023.
(Rutherglen and Hamilton
West) (Ind)
With the DWP struggling to recruit in under-resourced areas such
as personal independence payments and child maintenance, and huge
take-up of voluntary redundancy in regional offices, how will
Ministers ensure the Department’s ability to support the public
is not endangered further?
It is our intention to have jobs fairs, sector-based work
academies and local recruitment on an ongoing basis. I am happy
to discuss with the hon. Lady, whom I have worked with many times
in the past, how we can do things in her patch.
Job Vacancies: Watford
(Watford) (Con)
14. What progress his Department has made on filling vacancies in
the job market in Watford constituency. (903200)
The Minister for Employment ()
The Department for Work and Pensions is assisting businesses
across the country, particularly in Watford, to ensure we fill
the vacancies by supporting people back into work. In Watford,
the jobcentre is doing sterling work, helping local and national
employers to deliver recruitment days, job fairs, sector-based
work academies and work trials to help to fill those
vacancies.
I once again co-hosted the Watford jobs fair late last year,
working with the excellent jobcentre team. We had more than 30
employers in attendance, from KFC to His Majesty’s Courts and
Tribunals Service, Smyths Toys to Warner Bros. and Hilton Hotels
& Resorts to West Herts College. However, a common theme
raised with me was the lack of interview attendance by
applicants. Will my hon. Friend assure me that activities are
under way to ensure that interviews are attended so that we can
get people back to work? May I also invite him to visit Watford
to see the great work in practice?
What an offer—I would be delighted to visit Watford and to thank
the excellent team who work at the Watford jobcentre. In answer
to my hon. Friend’s question, yes, claimants are expected to take
reasonable steps to move into and progress in work, including
attending jobs fairs and interviews with employers.
Supporting People into Work: Childcare Costs
(Blackburn) (Lab)
15. What steps he is taking to support people with high childcare
costs to enter work. (903201)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
Parents claiming UC who move into work can get support with
paying up-front childcare costs through the DWP flexible support
fund. Once in work, eligible parents can claim back up to 85% of
their childcare costs each month through their universal credit.
That is worth up to £650 for one child and around £1,100 for two
or more children, regardless of the number of hours that parents
work. There is vital support for working parents and I encourage
all hon. Members to visit their jobcentres to help them to
understand that and the other crucial support available to their
constituents.
Soaring childcare costs are compounding the cost of living crisis
and in some cases pricing them out of work. According to the
Coram childcare survey, parents in the north-west are paying on
average £1,150 a month for a nursery place for a two-year-old.
What plans does the Minister have to support parents who are out
of work, looking to increase their hours or on a low wage and
struggling with overbearing costs?
I thank the hon. Lady for raising this matter, because it is
important for employers to step up as well. Where they have
vacancies, they should think about job design and being more
welcoming to people wanting to take on more hours and to
progress. That is some of the work we are doing through our
changes to progression, working with our jobcentres. Of course,
payments can also be made directly to the childcare provider, but
I am very keen that this works for all parents and it is a matter
I am looking at.
(Stroud) (Con)
The DWP Committee has conducted an investigation into the
childcare element of universal credit and, as we have heard, the
offer is a good one, at 85% of costs paid. However, the system is
not working and only 13% of eligible parents are taking it up.
Parent after parent told us that they want to go out to work and
that this is an issue. Will my hon. Friend confirm whether there
have been discussions with the Treasury ahead of the spring
Budget to think about funding our key asks of removing the
up-front payment requirement and uprating the care?
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State takes a great
interest in this matter, and I can assure my hon. Friend that we
are all keen to see more parents in work. In fact, the current
rate for lone parent employment is 64.6%. She knows this subject
very well and advocates for change, so she fully understands the
challenges. We will respond in due course to the Committee’s
report, which was published at the end of last year. I reiterate
my absolute passion for making this work for all parents.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Minister.
(Westminster North) (Lab)
Soaring childcare costs are indeed a major barrier to parents
seeking to return to the workplace. Parents seeking to take a job
may find that they have to have at least £1,000 in the bank in
advance to pay for the first month’s childcare. Can the Minister
explain how a parent on universal credit who wants to move back
into work is supposed to fund those up-front childcare costs and
then wait a month for them to be reimbursed?
I thank the hon. Lady for that point, and take the opportunity to
remind the House and all employers to think about job design,
flexibility and inclusive recruitment, because that will make a
difference. With regard to eligible claimants moving back into
work, they can receive support for up-front childcare costs
through the Department’s flexible support fund. Claimants can
also receive support for up-front costs if they increase their
hours and take on an additional job. Payments can be made direct
to the childcare provider, and we are working on further guidance
on that.
Cost of Living: Impact on People with a Disability
(Waveney) (Con)
16. What steps he is taking to help tackle the disproportionate
impact of the cost of living crisis on people with a disability.
(903202)
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work ()
As I said earlier, six million people receiving an eligible
disability benefit received a £150 disability cost of living
payment last year and will receive a further £150 cost of living
payment later this year. This is in addition to other Government
support, such as up to £900 for those on a qualifying
means-tested benefit.
The £150 disability cost of living payment is indeed welcome, but
those living with a disability spend more on heating costs, as
they are invariably less mobile and spend longer, if not the
whole day, in their home. As the hon. Member for Bootle () and my right hon. Friend the
Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford ( ) have mentioned, Parkinson’s
UK estimates that additional cost at £1,200. Will my hon. Friend
set out what the Government are doing to provide advice and help
those with a disability to bridge that funding gap?
I can certainly extend the offer to my hon. Friend to join the
meeting that I agreed to in an earlier exchange. I am keen to
have his insight and input on this issue. It is important to set
that £150 payment in the context of a wider package of support
that has been provided: the £900 cost of living payment; the £300
pensioner payment; and the support that has been provided through
the energy price guarantee, as well as discretionary support. It
is right, particularly with reform in the offing from April 2024
around energy support, that we look at this issue in the
round.
Universal Credit: Vaccine Damage Payment Awards
(Newcastle-under-Lyme)
(Con)
17. If he will review whether vaccine damage payment awards
should be disregarded for the purposes of universal credit.
(903203)
The Minister for Employment ()
My hon. Friend is a great champion for his constituents in
Newcastle-under-Lyme. It was a pleasure to meet him recently and
discuss his particular constituent’s case. I can assure him that
I will review the issue.
I thank the Minister for meeting me to discuss the case of Mrs
Ward. As we all know in the House, the vaccines are incredibly
important and largely effective in stopping covid, but there have
been a few cases in which there are side effects, and we should
acknowledge that. We have a vaccine damage payment scheme for
such cases, but universal credit does not disregard payments made
under that scheme, although it does for some other payment
systems. That means that Mrs Ward, who has been bereaved, has the
additional indignity of having her payment means-tested, whereas
someone who was not on universal credit would receive the payment
in full. I thank the Minister for the review, and may I ask for a
timeframe for when people such as Mrs Ward can have answers about
this?
My sympathies go out to Mrs Ward and her family in the
circumstances that my hon. Friend has outlined to me, both in
private and in public today. I can assure him that this matter
will be reviewed. It is clearly a cross-Government matter, but it
will be resolved by the summer at the latest.
Cost of Living: Pensioners
John Mc Nally (Falkirk) (SNP)
18. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of
Government support for pensioners in the context of increases in
the cost of living. (903204)
(Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)
20. What recent assessment he has made of the impact of inflation
on pensioners. (903206)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
The Government have provided a record amount of support for
pensioners this winter. More than 8 million households have
received a £300 cost of living payment in addition to other
support. Both the state pension and pension credit will be
uprated from April by 10.1% in line with inflation. That means
that for the first time the full amount of the new state pension
will be more than £10,000 per year.
John Mc Nally
I thank the Minister for her answer, but the Government are again
showing their disregard for the vulnerable of our society by
failing to increase state benefits adequately for those who need
them most. All the while, the Government disproportionately
reward the most affluent areas of this country with their
so-called levelling-up grants. Their disregard for the common
people, and pensioners in particular, is plain to see. Can the
Minister confirm whether there are any plans to reduce the levels
of poverty suffered by people that has been caused by her
Government and her Department failing to support them
adequately?
May I remind the hon. Gentleman that under the Conservatives,
absolute pensioner poverty has gone down and the state pension
has gone up. This Government do deliver and will continue to
deliver for pensioners across the United Kingdom.
Around 1,800 pensioner households in Lancaster and Fleetwood are
eligible for but do not claim pension credit. With the rising
cost of living, many more pensioners are struggling, so will the
Minister lend her support to my campaign to encourage my
constituents to check on older friends and relatives to see
whether they are eligible for pension credit, and to support them
to apply if they are eligible?
I pay tribute to the work that the hon. Lady is doing in her
constituency to boost take-up of pension credit. I would love to
work with her and all across the House on this important topic
that we are all focused on.
(Amber Valley) (Con)
The Minister will know that a lot of private pension schemes
increase by inflation each year, but with inflation capped at 5%.
Will she encourage the trustees of those schemes, where they have
a healthy balance sheet, to increase their pensions by the full
10% this year to help out those pensioners who are
struggling?
My hon. Friend does a lot of important work in this area. What he
says is sensible, and all pension funds need to be looking at
what more they can do to support pensioners.
Mr Speaker
I call the Chair of the Select Committee.
Local Housing Allowance
Sir (East Ham) (Lab)
19. What assessment he has made of the impact of real-terms
reductions in local housing allowance rates on families.
(903205)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ()
In 2020, as the right hon. Gentleman knows, the Government
boosted the local housing allowance by almost £1 billion, taking
it to the 30th percentile of rents. For those where there is a
shortfall, the discretionary housing payments arrangements are
available. We should all be mindful of the expense of the support
for housing, which is running at £30 billion a year, and is
projected to rise to £50 billion in 2050.
Sir
Rightmove reported last autumn that rents in London had increased
by more than 16% in a year, yet, as the Secretary of State has
said, housing support through local housing allowance has been
frozen since 2020. Will Ministers look again in the Budget at the
level of local housing allowance for the coming financial
year?
The right hon. Gentleman makes a perfectly valid point, but he
needs to see this issue in the round. My fellow Ministers have
outlined at some length the cost of living support payments that
were made available last year and that were announced in the
autumn statement and will be available from April onwards. I have
already mentioned discretionary housing payments, with £1.6
billion of support since 2011. There is also the household
support fund, which gained an extra £1 billion for 2023-24. I
look forward to appearing before his Committee at the end of
March, where no doubt we can discuss these matters in greater
detail.
Topical Questions
(Ellesmere Port and Neston)
(Lab)
T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental
responsibilities.(903207)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions ()
As the House knows, the Prime Minister has asked me to review
economic inactivity. We have 9 million people who are
economically inactive at the moment, and I will be looking
closely at all those in that review, not least the long-term sick
and disabled, those with caring responsibilities and those over
the age of 50 who have retired early.
Following on from the question from the Select Committee Chair,
my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Sir ), many of my constituents are
required to seek a housing solution in the private rented sector,
but cannot afford it due to the freezing of local housing
allowance and the increase in rents. Can the Minister have a
conversation with his colleagues in the Department for Levelling
Up, Housing and Communities to see whether they can do more to
enable councils to widen their lists for the housing register to
ensure that people can access housing they can afford?
I can provide the hon. Gentleman with that reassurance. There are
discussions ongoing between officials in my Department and in
DLUHC, and we will continue those through time. We are aware of
the issue. I have raised the inordinate expense of these
measures, but none the less it is important that we look at them
closely.
(Stoke-on-Trent South)
(Con)
T2. We have some fantastic engineering companies in
Stoke-on-Trent, including Don-Bur, IAE and Rayne Precision
Engineering. However, they are struggling to fill what amount
collectively to hundreds of vacancies. Will my hon. Friend look
at what more we can do to help those companies recruit people and
get them back into work?(903208)
The Minister for Employment ()
My hon. Friend is right that there are great things happening in
Stoke. We are working with the North Staffordshire Engineering
Group to develop a sector-based work academy to fill those
specialist engineering roles. A jobs fair is planned at Port Vale
football club—[Interruption] —which is some people’s favourite
football club, on 16 February, and Don-Bur, IAE and Rayne are all
invited to attend. On 15 March, the DWP is also hosting a jobs
fair at IAE’s new exhibition centre.
(Leicester South)
(Lab/Co-op)
According to my friends at the Centre for Social Justice, around
700,000 people with no work requirement could go to work if given
the right support. The Labour party put forward proposals. The
Secretary of State’s spin doctors said they were cynical. Then,
two days later, he briefed that he was going to copy them. So
when will he introduce reforms to the work capability assessment
and Access to Work to get more people back into the
workplace?
The right hon. Gentleman knows the answer to his own question,
which is that we are looking at precisely those matters as part
of our review of economic inactivity. He is well aware of the
extensive consultation that surrounded the White Paper, which we
will come forward with in due course. All the questions he poses
will be answered in greater detail then.
Economic inactivity has been rising for three years, and the
Labour party wants to get Britain back to work, but all the
Secretary of State can say is that he will bring forward a White
Paper in due course.
Let me ask about the long-term sick. The Secretary of State will
know that a third of the inactive across South Yorkshire are
long-term sick and that a quarter of the inactive across the west
midlands are long-term sick. In answer to my hon. Friend the
Member for Barnsley Central (), he said he was looking carefully at the long-term
sick programmes across South Yorkshire and the west midlands.
However, in December, his Department withdrew the funding. Why is
he cutting the funding for Andy Street’s West Midlands and across
South Yorkshire when we need to get the long-term sick back to
work?
As I have said, we have invested £7 million in the west midlands
engine pilot, and we are looking closely at that pilot. The right
hon. Gentleman criticises us on the employment front, but it is
Labour that saw the number of workless households almost double
on its watch, Labour that always has unemployment higher at the
end of its term of office than when it went in, Labour that
parked millions of people on benefits with little incentive to
leave them, and Labour that left us with 2.5 million unemployed
in 2010.
(Colne Valley) (Con)
T6. I have visited local businesses in the Colne and Holme
valleys and in Lindley, so it is great to hear that so many are
expanding, have vacancies and are looking to hire local people.
With that in mind, will the Secretary of State please join me in
commending the excellent work of Huddersfield jobcentre staff,
who are busy preparing for a jobs fair on 2 February, as they
seek to improve people’s lives by helping them into
work?(903212)
I thank my hon. Friend for mentioning the Huddersfield jobcentre
and the extraordinary work of the staff there. They organise
several job fairs every month, and I commend my hon. Friend for
the support he provides to them in that endeavour.
(Glasgow East) (SNP)
Today, we have probably had an insight into one of the
battlelines for the next general election. It was on the front
page of the Daily Mail—notsomething I would normally read—which
talks about a “something for nothing” Britain. Will the Secretary
of State take this opportunity to distance himself from that
ridiculous remark? I suggest it would be a brave move by the
Conservative party to tell pensioners that their state pension is
something for nothing.
I have a clear view on all these matters, which is that a
hallmark of a civilised society is that it looks after the most
vulnerable; the Government have a proud record in that respect. I
could go through chapter and verse on the various measures, not
least the cost of living support for 8 million low-income
households up and down the country. If people—fraudsters and
others—are prepared to abuse the system that is there to support
the most vulnerable, we should not hesitate to come down hard on
them and they should face the full force of the law.
(Birmingham, Northfield)
(Con)
T9. Will the Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression
join me in commending the Longbridge and Kings Norton jobcentres,
and the Factory youth hub in Longbridge, for their work to ensure
that young people are equipped with the skills they need to get
back into work and that they have the dignity of work, and to
reduce youth unemployment in my constituency?(903216)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
I wholeheartedly agree that, as we have heard, work is more than
just a pay packet. I am delighted about the impact of more than
150 youth hubs, such as the Factory—I visited the one at the
central library, but I did not get to that one—that are working
with flagship employers and small employers. I am keen to see how
that youth hub changes lives and opens up progression for young
people who would like to learn from my hon. Friend’s local DWP
team’s success.
(North Shropshire) (LD)
T4. I have been contacted by two separate disabled constituents
who were previously eligible for the warm home discount. This
year of all years, however, they have been told that they are no
longer eligible, because of the way that the various support
schemes interact. Will the Minister meet me to look into those
two individual cases, and the wider issue, to ensure that the
most vulnerable people are not missing out on the support that
they need?(903210)
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work ()
I am grateful for the hon. Lady’s question. It is important to
point out that the reform to the warm home discount, which
expands the support available, means that 160,000 more households
where a person is disabled or has a long-term illness will
receive a rebate. If she provides me with the details of the
cases in question, I will be happy to look at them.
(Torbay) (Con)
I know that the Minister for Disabled People shares my enthusiasm
for the Disability Confident campaign and ensuring that more
employers sign up to it. What discussions is he having with the
Migration Advisory Committee to ensure that, when considering
representations from sectors about, for example, the shortage
occupation list, being a Disability Confident employer is part of
what is considered?
It is fair to say that my hon. Friend and I have experience of
such matters from previous roles. I know that there is no bigger
advocate of Disability Confident in Torbay than him. Of course,
we want to continue to build on the brilliant work that has
happened through that scheme and its success in getting disabled
people into work, which I think should be an overarching mission
for the whole of Government.
(Richmond Park) (LD)
T5. I welcome the Secretary of State’s earlier remarks about
looking to address the causes of economic inactivity in the
over-50s. The people and skills element of the UK shared
prosperity fund could be well placed to fund the kind of support
that that age group needs to get back into the workforce, but
that funding will not be available until 2024-25, which is much
too late to address the current crisis. Will the Department work
with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to
bring the funding forward to 2023-24?(903211)
The hon. Lady raises an interesting and important point. We are
certainly in discussions with DLUHC about those kinds of
matters—perhaps I will leave it at that.
(Halesowen and Rowley Regis)
(Con)
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit has fallen in
my constituency over the last year, but does the Minister agree
that more needs to be done? Will he therefore support the jobs
fair that I am holding on 3 February in partnership with the DWP,
Halesowen business improvement district, Halesowen College and
the Cornbow shopping centre in Halesowen so that we can get more
people back into work?
I welcome my hon. Friend’s work in Halesowen. He is right that
jobs fairs, not just by the DWP but by individual Members of
Parliament, are a vital way to drive greater employment. He is
also right to say that the in-work progression offer that we are
developing will truly make a difference to those already in
work.
(Nottingham North)
(Lab/Co-op)
T7. It is clear that nationally led employment support simply is
not working. Why are the Government not matching the Opposition’s
commitment to let local communities take charge of that crucial
work so that local support matches local labour market
need?(903213)
I will stand up for our jobcentres, which are providing fantastic
employment to people up and down the country. On top of that, we
are doing the in-work progression offer, about which the Labour
party, as usual, has absolutely nothing to say.
(Ashfield) (Con)
The Rumbles café in Sutton-in-Ashfield does marvellous work with
people with Down’s syndrome, helping to train them and get them
back into the workplace. People with Down’s syndrome are living
longer and more independently, but they are struggling to get
into the workplace, so what more can the Government do to help
people with Down’s get into the workplace?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Perhaps we could organise a
visit so that I can see this organisation for myself. I had a
really rewarding visit to Bristol just before Christmas, where I
saw the huge difference made by work experience opportunities
organised and facilitated by charitable organisations. I would be
delighted to visit.
(Birkenhead) (Lab)
T8. Last week, the Prime Minister became the second holder of his
office to have been found to have broken the law while serving in
No. 10. He has now been issued with a fixed penalty notice, his
second in 12 months. But unlike many of my constituents who have
been hit with punitive benefits sanctions, the Prime Minister is
unlikely to be forced to resort to payday loans and food banks in
order to get by. Will the Secretary of State concede that the
Government policy of sanctioning claimants for even the most
minor and accidental breaches of the rules is simply too
severe?(903214)
Sanctions quite rightly play a role in the work of work coaches
and jobcentres, because the provision of benefits involves a
contract between the jobcentre and those receiving those
benefits, who in many cases have an obligation to seek work.
Where that contract is broken by the individual who is meant to
be seeking work, it is only right that a sanction should be
available. But it has to be applied with due care—and, indeed,
that is the case.
(Great Grimsby) (Con)
Unemployment is falling in Grimsby, but it still stands at 5.1%
compared with the UK national rate of 3.7%. What is the
Department doing to make sure that we can get more people into
work when we have the vacancies?
My hon. Friend is a doughty champion for Grimsby and will be
pleased to know that an adult social care jobs fair, with 10
employers in attendance, will take place on Wednesday, and a
whole host of events will take place every single day during
apprenticeship week in two weeks’ time. We are also rolling out
the in-work progression offer to Grimsby, starting in March,
which genuinely will make a difference and promote greater
employment.
(Rutherglen and Hamilton
West) (Ind)
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism are severely
underdiagnosed in women and girls, and are often misdiagnosed as
mood disorders. What discussions have Ministers had with the
Health and Social Care Secretary about the impact this is having
on women’s ability to access and maintain employment, and what
steps will be taken to support them?
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising this issue. It is fair
to say that Ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions
meet Ministers in the Department of Health and Social Care and
across Government. We are in the process of appointing the new
ministerial disability champions to take a lead on taking deep
dives into particular issues. I am really happy to take that one
away to raise with DHSC colleagues.
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con)
The people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke would
like to ask when the Minister for Pensions is going to act on the
recommendations of the 2017 automatic enrolment review to lower
the age threshold for automatic enrolment from 22 to 18, and to
remove the lower limit of the qualifying earnings band, so that
contributions are paid from the first pound earned.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
()
Automatic enrolment has been a huge success. I know that my hon.
Friend does a huge amount of campaigning on this, and we remain
committed to implementing the 2017 reforms in the mid-2020s.
(Tatton) (Con)
During the lockdowns, conditionality was, understandably,
relaxed, but I fear that it has not returned to its pre-covid
levels. Can the Secretary of State assure me that those pre-covid
levels of conditionality, which are so vital to getting people
back into work, will return as a matter of urgency?
My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. Conditionality plays a
central role in the way in which the benefits system works and
our drive to get people back into work. She is right that it was
relaxed during the covid crisis, and I think it is right that it
was, including in relation to people coming in for face-to-face
appointments. That has now been reinstated and I will be looking
at conditionality as part of my review of economic inactivity.
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