The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Tom Pursglove)
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on the
progress of delivery of cost of living support. The Government
understand the pressures that households face in the current
climate. We are all familiar with the global factors that are the
root causes of costs being higher, including President Putin’s
illegal war in Ukraine and the aftermath of the pandemic. We are
committed to delivering on...Request free trial
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work ()
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on the
progress of delivery of cost of living support.
The Government understand the pressures that households face in
the current climate. We are all familiar with the global factors
that are the root causes of costs being higher, including
President Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine and the aftermath of the
pandemic. We are committed to delivering on our priority to halve
inflation, which will help ease those pressures for everyone and
raise living standards.
Alongside that important work, we continue to implement our
wide-ranging and significant package of cost of living measures
to support the most vulnerable during 2023 and 2024. We have
increased benefits and state pensions by 10.1%, and increased the
benefit cap by the same amount so that more people are helped by
the uprating. For low-paid workers, we have increased the
national living wage by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour. That represents
an increase of more than £1,600 to the gross annual earnings of a
full-time worker on the national living wage. That increase, and
the increases we made to the national minimum wage in April, have
given a pay rise to about 2.9 million workers.
To help parents, we are undertaking a significant expansion of
childcare, including a rise, later this month, of nearly 50% in
the maximum amount of childcare payments for people on universal
credit. For the most vulnerable, the £842 million extension of
our household support fund into 2023-24 means that councils
across England can continue to help families with the cost of
groceries, bills and other essentials. Taking into account the
extra money that we have provided through Barnett funding for
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, who can decide how they
allocate that money, we have committed an extra £1 billion. That
is on top of what we have provided since October 2021, and brings
total funding to £2.5 billion.
With energy bills being one of families’ biggest worries, the
energy price guarantee will also remain in place as a safety net
until the end of March 2024, should energy prices increase
significantly during that period. Since that energy bills support
began in October 2022, the Government have covered about half of
a typical household energy bill this past winter, and by the end
of June will have saved a typical household around £1,500. We are
also building on and extending the one-off cash payments we
provided during 2022-23 that saw us make more than 30 million
cost of living payments, including a £150 disability cost of
living payment to 6 million people, up to £650 for more than 8
million households on means-tested benefits, and an additional
£300 on top of the winter fuel payment for more than 8 million
pensioner households. Those payments put hundreds of pounds
directly, and at pace, into the pockets of millions of
people.
However, we recognise that cost of living pressures continue,
particularly for the most vulnerable households. That is why we
continue to provide targeted support to help those most impacted
by rising prices throughout this financial year, including more
support for people on means-tested benefits such as universal
credit, with up to three cost of living payments totalling up to
£900. The Government have already delivered the first £301
payment to 8.3 million households—support worth £2.5 billion. The
two further payments of £300 and £299 will be made in the autumn
and the spring, and pensioner households will get an additional
£300 on top of their annual winter fuel payment this winter, as
they did last year.
I am pleased to be able to confirm to the House that from today,
to help with the additional costs that disabled people face, more
than 6 million people across the UK on eligible extra-costs
disability benefits will start to receive a £150 disability cost
of living payment. Those cash payments, which we estimate will be
worth around £1 billion, will be automatically transferred into
people’s bank accounts, with those eligible for the support not
needing to take any action. By the end of Monday 26 June, we plan
to have made 99% of payments to those already eligible—that is
millions of payments being made in just seven days. Most
remaining already eligible people will receive their payment by 4
July. We estimate that nearly 60% of individuals who receive an
extra-costs disability benefit will also receive the means-tested
benefit cost of living payment, and more than 85% will receive
either of, or both, the means-tested pensioner payments.
This Government will always protect the most vulnerable, but we
are also helping to improve living standards for everyone by
getting more people into, and progressing in, better-paid jobs.
That is the surest and most sustainable way to raise incomes and
grow the economy. The number of people in employment has
increased to a record high, but by removing the barriers that
stop people from working, we are reducing the number of people
who are economically inactive—those who are neither working nor
actively looking for work. It is encouraging that last week’s
labour market statistics show a further fall in inactivity of
140,000, or 0.4%, on the quarter.
We are tackling inflation to help to manage the cost of living
for all households and providing extra targeted support for those
that need it. The disability cost of living payments, landing in
millions of bank accounts from today as part of our wider support
package, underline our commitment to supporting disabled people.
That is reflected in how we are stepping up our employment
support for disabled people and people with health conditions;
ensuring people can access the right support at the right time
and have a better overall experience when applying for and
receiving health and disability benefits; and transforming the
health and disability benefits system so that it focuses on what
people can do, rather than on what they cannot. It is also
reflected in the fact that we expect to spend over £78 billion in
2023-24 on benefits to support disabled people and those with
health conditions, which is 3.1% of GDP.
With the Government’s significant package of cost of living
support, worth over £94 billion in 2022-23 and 2023-24, we are
ensuring that those most in need are protected from the worst
impacts of rising prices, putting more pounds in people’s pockets
and providing some peace of mind to the most vulnerable in
society.
Mr Speaker
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
1.00pm
(Leicester South)
(Lab/Co-op)
I thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement, but let
us be clear: he has come to the House today and is asking us to
congratulate him on this payment when, after 13 years, the number
of disabled people living in poverty is up by over 1 million. He
is asking us to congratulate him on this payment when, almost
every day now, we hear stories of disabled people cutting back on
hot meals, showers and washing their clothes, because otherwise
they would not be able to afford to use the equipment that helps
them get by in life. He is asking us to congratulate him when,
after 13 years of Conservative Government, child poverty is up by
600,000 and pensioner poverty is up by 400,000. He is asking us
to congratulate him when we have a cost of living crisis now so
severe that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation today reports that
nearly 6 million of the poorest households are forced to skip
meals and 7 million of the poorest families are going without
food, heating or even basic toiletries.
The Minister talks about employment, but there are 2.5 million
people out of work for reasons of sickness or disability. The
working-age disability benefit bill is going to go up to around
£25 billion, but many people out of work want to work. That is
why we proposed an “into work guarantee” welfare reform to help
people to move off sickness benefits and into work. Instead of
offering help now to people out of work, the Government are
actually cutting disability employment advisers by 10%. Because
the Government are failing to do their part in helping to tame
inflation, disabled people in work and families are seeing the
value of their wages ravaged by inflation. In fact, the value of
this disability payment is worth £5 less in real terms than when
the Chancellor announced it in the autumn statement because of
inflation.
The Government are failing to play their part in helping to tame
inflation. When combined with them running the economy off the
cliff last autumn, policies that led to turmoil on the markets
and a run on pension funds, that means that thousands of disabled
people, thousands of working families and even pensioners are
living in fear of the letter they will soon be getting this year
telling them it is time to remortgage. Disabled people and
families are facing hundreds or indeed thousands of pounds more
on their refinanced mortgage over the coming years, with 1.3
million homes this year collectively paying £10 billion extra on
mortgages—a Tory mortgage premium. Disabled homeowners and
families are paying the price—literally paying the price—for 13
years of Tory economic failure. So my question is very simple:
when so many disabled people and so many families are facing more
on their mortgage because of decisions taken by this Government,
how on earth does the Minister expect them to cope?
I obviously appreciate the shadow Secretary of State taking the
time to come to respond to this statement today. On the
fundamental point of supporting people properly, I do not think
that there is disagreement between us. We disagree on the detail
of this and I think it is substantial and significant that, as I
set out earlier, we are providing £94 billion of comprehensive
cost of living support to people over 2022-23 and into 2023-24.
That is structured support that is hitting people’s bank accounts
in the way I have described, including the latest tranche of
support through the disability cost of living payment, but there
is also the discretionary support that can be provided through
local authorities to meet the needs that exist, where they do not
necessarily neatly fit into those structured support packages.
That is significant support and he should welcome it.
I was very interested to hear what the shadow Secretary of State
had to say about our employment-related measures. I would be
absolutely delighted if he were to come forward and welcome the
structural reform that this Government are determined to make to
help to support more disabled people and people with health
conditions into work, removing the jeopardy they feel around the
benefit system to smooth that journey.
There is also the tailored support that we want to provide
alongside that to improve the journey through the system and to
unlock people’s aspirations—namely, universal support, that tried
and tested supported employment model through individual
placement and support in primary care in the first year, but
growing beyond that. That is welcome support that will identify
people’s needs and support them on a case-by-case basis to meet
those objectives, with of course all the benefits that that
brings, as well as keeping people well in work.
The Work Well partnerships are building capacity alongside NHS
services. They are meaningful interventions on the supply side
that this Government are making, and I think they are to be
welcomed. It would have been nice for him to welcome the
structured and more permanent support that we want to provide to
help people to live more fulfilling lives, with employment at the
heart of that.
The shadow Secretary of State also said, effectively, that the
United Kingdom stands alone in these challenges. That is
absolutely not the case. I was at the United Nations last week
representing our country and it is fair to say, from many of the
conversations I had with others, that the challenges we are
facing are repeated in their countries—not just in Europe, but
much further afield. For example, in the US, the Federal Reserve
has increased rates at the fastest pace since the 1980s and in
Europe interest rates are at their highest level in more than two
decades. What we will do is take a responsible approach. The
Chancellor of the Exchequer set that out in questions just now.
What we will not be doing is making unaffordable spending pledges
that will simply lead to higher rates in the long term. That is
not the way to address these issues effectively.
On the specific issue of mortgages, again, we must not do
anything that only fuels the challenges that households face. We
have made a number of changes, including through support for
mortgage interest and the scheme around that. For example, from
April this year, claimants can be eligible for SMI from three
months instead of nine. We have also abolished the zero earnings
rule to allow claimants to continue receiving support while in
work and on UC. The interest rate we pay is based on the Bank of
England-published average mortgage rate, which increased from
2.09% to 2.65% on 10 May 2023. We of course continue to have
important and receptive engagement with lenders about that
support.
What is clear is that the Opposition have either no plan or an
uncosted plan. The latter would simply fuel inflation and make
matters worse. In contrast, what we will get on and do is provide
the support that we have outlined, which is comprehensive and is
meeting people’s needs, but of course we keep that package under
constant review. We are also focused on our fundamental mission,
which is to bring inflation down in the way we have
described.
Sir (Rossendale and Darwen)
(Con)
I congratulate the Minister on what is a meaningful package,
which particularly will be of help to disabled constituents of
mine in Rossendale and Darwen, but will he accept that the
measures that put money back in people’s pocket when they rely on
benefits will not dent the challenges people are facing when it
comes to their mortgage going up by hundreds of pounds a week or
a month? Will he talk to his friends at the Treasury about
reintroducing mortgage interest relief at source, which is a true
Conservative way of tackling the cost of living crisis by cutting
taxes and putting money back in the pockets of the squeezed
middle?
My right hon. Friend is trying to tempt me to make commitments on
behalf of the Treasury today that of course I am not able to do,
but what I am able to do is ensure that the point he has made in
this debate is relayed to Treasury colleagues. Again, there are
ongoing conversations being had involving the Under-Secretary of
State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid
Sussex (), who leads on housing within
the Department for Work and Pensions, and colleagues in the
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, for
example, around some of the challenges that people are facing
with housing. She is working proactively on this, along with
colleagues elsewhere.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
I call the SNP spokesperson.
(Glasgow East) (SNP)
I too thank the Minister for advance sight of his statement,
although in reality it is a nine-page press release rehash of
previous Government announcements. The only new thing today is
the £150 disability payment. Will the Minister reflect on the
excellent report from Scope, “Disability Price Tag 2023: the
extra cost of disability”, which shows that, on average, disabled
households have expenditure that is £975 higher per month? We
know that, for example, as a result of specialised diets, higher
transport costs, higher energy costs and higher insurance
premiums, there is a cost to disabled people.
Unfortunately, the Government do not have a good record when it
comes to disabled people, particularly the 2.5 million legacy
benefit claimants who were so cruelly overlooked during the
pandemic and did not get the equivalent of the £20 uplift. I
welcome the £150, but I ask the Minister to reflect on the wise
words of Scope, which says that that will not touch the sides. To
that end, as the Government are not quite getting this, may I
invite the Minister to come to Glasgow to meet me and the Glasgow
Disability Alliance, where he will hear the message, loud and
clear, that this simply does not go far enough and that far too
many people are going to struggle unless the Government up their
game?
The key point I would make, which I set out in my introductory
statement, is that there is a significant alignment; people
receiving the disability cost of living payment are also
receiving various other parts of the support package. Eight-five
per cent of those who qualify for the disability cost of living
payment are also receiving a mean-tested or the pensioner cost of
living payment. They are receiving various parts of the package
of support. We continue to keep those matters under constant
review, as Members would expect. I have a meeting later today
with a Minister in the Scottish Government and no doubt matters
relating to the cost of living will come up. As a Minister in the
Department for Work and Pensions, I am committed and determined
to visit all parts of the United Kingdom and I will take away the
hon. Gentleman’s suggestion about where I might go.
(Beckenham) (Con)
Can I re-emphasise the point made by my right hon. Friend the
Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Sir )? Huge numbers of constituents
are coming to me about the mortgage changes. They are absolutely
terrified. I know that the Government are doing all they can, but
can I ask them to redouble their efforts because this is going to
have a huge impact on the cost of living?
I thank my right hon. and gallant Friend for his question. This
is a significant issue in his constituency and a challenge in
constituencies across the country. Ministers across the
Government are mindful of it. It draws focus back to the key,
overarching mission of this Government and the economic plan that
the Chancellor and Prime Minister are advancing. That is why it
is so critical that we tackle the inflationary pressures. We must
not add to those inflationary pressures. If we can deal with that
root cause, that is the best way to help people in that
situation.
Madam Deputy Speaker ( )
I call the Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee.
Sir (East Ham) (Lab)
The cost of living payments have made a vital contribution to
millions of families in supporting people through the current
crisis and I welcome the contribution they have made. However,
the need for them does reflect, particularly following the
removal of the £20 a week uplift from universal credit, the
historically low headline level of benefits—at the moment, in
real terms, the lowest for 40 years. What consideration are the
Minister and his colleagues in the Department giving to
consolidating those occasional one-off payments into the
mainstream benefits— universal credit and the rest—so that people
can budget with confidence, week by week?
The right hon. Gentleman will recognise that my right hon. Friend
the Secretary of State has his annual review of benefits and
pension levels, where all matters are properly considered in the
usual way. Decisions are made and announced through those formal
processes. It is worth saying in relation to disability spending
more generally that in 2027-28 total disability spending is
forecast to be over £41.6 billion higher in real terms compared
with 2010. We are spending very significant sums of money on
support for disabled people. We also have those cost of living
packages of support in place for them. We will continue to be on
the side of helping people through this difficult time,
supporting where we can and cushioning the impacts of those
challenges. Again, I invite Opposition Members to join the
support for the overarching mission of this Government, which is
to get inflation down and to relieve those pressures.
(Newcastle-under-Lyme)
(Con)
I welcome my hon. Friend’s statement and the £150 that is going
into the bank accounts of 6 million people, including many of my
constituents in Newcastle-under-Lyme. I welcome all the support
that he outlined, including on energy bills for the entire
country, households and businesses, over the winter. I welcome
that energy bills are about to start falling at last, which I
know will be welcome to everybody across the House. However, does
he agree that the best way for us to help the most vulnerable is
to help them into well-paid, sustainable jobs, whether part-time
or full-time? We should look for support from employers for
adaptations and managing conditions in doing that.
I totally agree with my hon. Friend. Work is such an important
part of relieving some of those pressures, but it is also
important for people in the longer term. We want more people to
unlock their potential and access all the benefits and
opportunity that work brings. We see that as a partnership, and
we want to continue to deepen that commitment as a Government,
working collaboratively with employers to unlock those
opportunities. Schemes such as Access to Work Plus, which we have
piloted, evaluated, and are now rolling out, are all about
crafting roles, working with an individual and an employer, where
there is a determination to employ a disabled person. We see
massive benefit to that approach, not just for the business and
our economy, but also for the disabled person in question.
(Oldham East and
Saddleworth) (Lab)
I rise to support what my right hon. Friend the Member for East
Ham (Sir ) has just said. We cannot
underestimate the impact of the last 12 years of cuts to the
baseline in support and social security, with £33 billion taken
out of working-age budgets. The temporary one-off payments do not
even touch the sides, and that is resulting in one in three
disabled people living in poverty, which is twice the number of
non-disabled people. Let me again ask the question that my right
hon. Friend the Member for East Ham put to the Minister: when
will he be increasing the uplift?
I repeat what I said in response to the Chair of the Work and
Pensions Committee. We are determined to try to get to grips with
the longer-term pressures that people face. The hon. Member for
Glasgow East () mentioned the “Disability
Price Tag” report by Scope. One of those pressure is energy
costs, and one thing that colleagues in the Department for Energy
Security and Net Zero are currently looking at is the wholescale
market reform of our energy market. As part of that, they are
considering the issue of social tariffs and support, to see how
we best support those costs in the longer term. The best way to
tackle those issues in the round and get those pressures down, is
by addressing the inflationary challenge that we are currently
experiencing. That is what the Government are focused on at the
moment, and that is the right approach. On the wider matter in
response to the question from the Chair of the Committee, we will
take that away and it will be considered in the usual way as part
of the annual process.
(North East Fife)
(LD)
Scope’s “Disability Price Tag” report has already been mentioned,
but the £975 a month means that the extra payment of £150 does
not cover even a week of additional costs, and it points to the
lack of sufficiency for social security that the Chair of the
Work and Pensions Committee referred to. My private Member’s Bill
recently became the Carer’s Leave Act 2023, and when I met
constituents they had either had to give up work because of their
caring responsibilities, or they had lost carer’s allowance
because of the hours they were working. The Minister talks about
a transformation of the system. Does he agree that carer’s
allowance is ripe for reform?
The hon. Lady and I have previously had exchanges on carer’s
allowance, and the approach we take is to consider that when we
have our deliberations on annual uprating. We will make
modification to that when it is affordable and appropriate, but I
hear her representation. I also congratulate her on the Carer’s
Leave Act 2023, which introduces an important change. I know that
a lot of effort went into that behind the scenes, and I
congratulate her on it.
(Halton) (Lab)
I cannot recall a time when so many families and individuals have
contacted my office because they cannot afford to live, whether
that is being able to buy food, heat the house, or do other
things as a family. We have seen the start of a fall in energy
prices, but the fact remains that for the foreseeable future they
will be much higher than they were before the start of this
crisis. We are also seeing problems with interest rates and
various other pressures on families. In particular, rents are
outstripping local housing allowance by a considerable amount in
my local area, and people are being evicted. On the housing
front, pressures from interest rates are starting to bite, and
people cannot afford the rents that are now being charged in the
private sector. What is the Minister going to do about that?
On that specific point, I draw the hon. Gentleman’s attention to
the points I made earlier about some of the ongoing work, but I
will also ask my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex () to provide him with a
response to that question, because I know she is engaging with
colleagues elsewhere in the Government around those
challenges.
(Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch
and Strathspey) (SNP)
The Minister has already acknowledged the additional costs of
nearly £1,000 a month that disabled households have over
able-bodied households, but those costs are disproportionately
higher in rural areas such as the highlands, which I represent
with my constituency. People there have extra costs for
transport, energy and so on. Is it not time that the Government
did more to compensate people with those extreme costs? Would a
start not be to make up for what they lost with the universal
credit mismatch during the pandemic and, indeed, to restore the
£20 a week on universal credit immediately?
There is no plan to restore that £20 uplift in the way that the
hon. Gentleman describes, but in relation to disability benefits,
I draw his attention to the statistics and figures I set out
earlier. There will also be, as I have announced, an evaluation
of the cost of living payments in the autumn, which will no doubt
take into account a whole host of factors and be thoroughgoing in
that. I am also working with the disability unit to take a close
look at the costs that people are experiencing during this cost
of living challenge, because we want to learn from those
challenges for the future.
(West Ham) (Lab)
When visiting schools, I am told by young children that it is not
their turn to eat tonight. Schools tell me that pupils take
leftovers from school friends so that they can eat a lunch. Rents
are rocketing and households are paying almost £1,000 a year more
on food than they did in 2021. Does the Minister honestly think
that the support that the Government are offering is enough to
stop rising hunger in constituencies such as mine?
I of course recognise that food prices are a challenge not just
here in the UK, but abroad, too. For example, I am aware that
food inflation here is 19%, but within the EU it is 19% and in
the euro area it is 18%. People are experiencing these
significant challenges not just here, but abroad. I have seen
reports just today of retailers discounting products to try to
help with some of these pressures, which goes beyond the package
of support that the Government are providing. That £94 billion
figure is not insignificant. We also continue to support families
on a case-by-case basis through the household support fund, and I
encourage the hon. Lady to signpost her constituents to that
support, because where people have particular needs and
challenges, they can be supported through that help.
(Carmarthen East and
Dinefwr) (Ind)
In his statement, the Minister mentioned support with energy
bills. Earlier this week I received an email from a constituent
in the village of Capel Hendre in my constituency, which is on
the mains gas network, but a large proportion of households use
alternative fuels such as heating oil. The payment on alternative
fuels was not made directly through electricity bills, but people
had to apply for it. She has missed the deadline for the
alternative fuels payment scheme. I know this is not the
Minister’s direct responsibility, but will he raise with the
responsible Minister the fact that a cohort of people have missed
out? Is there a possibility of reopening the scheme so that
constituents can get the support to which they are entitled?
I commend the hon. Gentleman for his nifty way of getting that
important question into the proceedings this afternoon. If he
could share those details with me, I will gladly make sure that
that reaches the Minister responsible at the Department for
Energy Security and Net Zero.
(Battersea) (Lab)
It is worth noting that the UK Government were the first
Government to be investigated by the UN Committee on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities for their treatment of disabled
people. We all know the additional costs that disabled people
face—they are a fact—with higher energy bills and so forth. The
disability price tag is around £975 extra a month. The woeful
support of the cost of living payments will not go anywhere near
meeting those additional needs, so why on earth does the Minister
think it is enough? We do not need any more analysis—the evidence
is there, so why can he not take action now?
I reiterate the point that people often receive multiple parts of
the comprehensive cost of living support that we are providing.
The hon. Lady also made a point about the UN, but my experience
from speaking to counterparts from across the world at the UN
last week and being involved in the discussions there was that
people often look to the United Kingdom as being a world leader
on these matters. It is important to make that point in the
context of the comment she just made. The fact is that we are
continuing to keep under review the package of support that is
provided, but it is worth recognising that people often receive
multiple parts of the package alongside the disability cost of
living payment.
(Motherwell and Wishaw)
(SNP)
It was a real pleasure to listen to the hon. Member for Battersea
(), who is always eloquent
when it comes to disabled people. We have heard already about the
support with the £150 extra. I thank the Minister for that; it is
literally better than nothing. Many disabled people are trying to
get into work, because they have to work to be able to afford the
basics in life. There is a disability income gap, as the Minister
will be aware. Will he look back on his White Paper, because he
missed out the delays that people are now facing to get support
from Access to Work? It is impossible, almost. Disabled people
are losing jobs daily, because they cannot get the support they
need when they need it. Will the Minister review that and try to
help disabled people be able to afford more?
The hon. Lady knows, because we meet regularly to talk about
these issues, my absolute determination to deliver on greater
employment opportunities for disabled people. In fact, as I said
earlier, I am meeting the Scottish Minister later today, where
this issue is on the agenda. I hope that we can move forward with
our reforms in a constructive, collaborative manner, so that they
benefit people across the United Kingdom to their fullest extent.
We are putting additional resource into Access to Work to get
through applications quicker, and a number of process changes
have also been made. Those are in the early stages, but the
anecdotal commentary I am receiving from officials is that with
some of these changes, we are seeing cases processed much more
quickly.
(Eltham) (Lab)
The Resolution Foundation estimates that mortgage payers will pay
an average of £2,900 more in the next year due to increases in
interest rates. Some 13% of retirees are still paying mortgages
at the time of retirement, and 770,000 households are not
claiming pension credit, so do not qualify for pension credit
payments. This Government have been a disaster for pensioners,
particularly those with mortgages. If the Minister has done his
research, can he tell us how many people on pension credit
applied for mortgage interest support? How many pensioners are
facing interest rates rising faster than their pensions?
I do not have those figures to hand for this debate, but I will
take that request away and ask ministerial colleagues in the
Department to respond.
(York Central)
(Lab/Co-op)
There is no room for complacency. Our constituents are absolutely
desperate. On Saturday night, I got another email from a
constituent who literally had no money left. She was spiralling
into debt, and she could not afford her rent, food or energy.
Today’s announcement will do nothing to help her, and it will do
nothing to help so many of my constituents who are in such
desperation. What steps has the Minister taken to look at the
essentials guarantee that the Joseph Rowntree Foundation is
putting forward, which would see a consistent uplift in all
benefits to help people such as my constituent?
I am obviously not familiar with the circumstances of the
individual in question, so it is impossible for me to comment on
the support that he or she may or may not be eligible to receive.
I always encourage people to apply for any support to which they
might be entitled. Benefit calculators are available on the
gov.uk website to help people to do that. The household support
fund is being delivered in the hon. Lady’s community, but if she
wishes to share some details with me about that specific case, I
will gladly take that away to look at. As I said earlier, there
is also the opportunity, with the annual decisions taken within
the Department, for all these issues to be considered.
(Glasgow North) (SNP)
The Minister said rather dismissively to my hon. Friend the
Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey () that the Government have no
plans to reinstate the universal credit uplift. Has he done any
analysis of the really positive impact that that uplift had on
people and the negative impact of taking it away? At the very
least, will he look at replicating across the whole of the UK the
Scottish child payment of £25 a week, which is made to the people
who need it most?
We have no plans to replicate the Scottish child payment here in
England. I will happily look at the wider report to which the
hon. Member referred.
(Bury South) (Lab)
The cost of living crisis has had an impact on businesses in my
constituency such as Lomas News, whose energy bills went up by
400%. In April, it got relief of £4.93. With food inflation up,
rents up, mortgages up and bills still high, the support is not
enough, is it?
We are continuing to provide comprehensive support to both
individuals and businesses to get them through this difficult
time, and we have done that consistently. Of course, the hon.
Member stood on the same manifesto that I did, so I very much
hope that he will subscribe, as I do, to the Government’s
overarching mission to get inflation down, which will relieve the
very challenges to which he alludes.
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