Universal Credit: Household Income Danielle Rowley (Midlothian)
(Lab) 2. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of
State for Work and Pensions on the effect of the roll-out of
universal credit on levels of household income. [902583] The Chief
Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss) Universal credit
has already been very successful in...Request free trial
Universal Credit: Household Income
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(Midlothian)
(Lab)
2. What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State
for Work and Pensions on the effect of the roll-out of
universal credit on levels of household income. [902583]
-
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)
Universal credit has already been very successful in
getting more people into work by ensuring that work always
pays, and that has boosted household incomes.
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I am not surprised that the Government announced small
changes to their discredited universal credit programme in
the Budget last week, following months of criticism,
unanimous defeat on an Opposition day motion, discontent
across the whole House, rising debt arrears and even
evictions. But what is surprising is that, rather than halt
the botched roll-out and fix the failing system, the
Government have chosen to put back only £1 for every £10
cut from the system.
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Mr (South Norfolk)
(Con)
Give way!
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No, thank you.
Will the Minister accept that it is now a matter of urgency
that proper action is taken to address the real human
suffering imposed on our communities by this roll-out?
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I think we should remember the 1.4 million people who spent
the previous decade under Labour trapped in poverty because
every pound they earned was taken away in benefits. We have
introduced universal credit so that every extra hour of
work pays, and all the evidence suggests that it is much
better than the previous scheme. Employment pays, and
people on universal credit are more likely to be in work.
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(North West
Leicestershire) (Con)
Would my right hon. Friend like to comment on the
irresponsible scare stories put out by the BBC—first on
Radio 4, then on “BBC Breakfast”, on its website and across
all its media platforms—that up to 100,000 people on
in-work universal credit would receive no benefits over the
Christmas period?
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I think it is disgraceful that that fake news was put out
on our national broadcaster, when universal credit is
actually helping people get into work and earn extra money.
It is particularly poor that some of the lowest-income
people in our society have been unnecessarily worried when,
in fact, under universal credit, everybody can receive an
advance on their payment.
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(Oxford East)
(Lab/Co-op)
Even after the Budget’s limited changes to universal credit,
it will still make young single-parent families with
school-age children £6,000 a year worse off—those are OBR
figures. We should remember that without further action to
stop that, the Government will push 1 million additional
children into poverty. I would like to know what they will do
about that.
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I can tell the hon. Lady that poverty and income inequality
are, in fact, at a 30-year low thanks to this Government’s
policies. What universal credit does—rather than leaving
people on the scrapheap, which is what happened under the
Labour Government—is help people get into work. What we have
seen is that the fastest growth in employment has been among
the lowest-income people in our society.
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(Stirling) (Con)
I welcome the changes in universal credit announced in the
Budget speech. Did my right hon. Friend note that, in its
Budget analysis, the Institute for Fiscal Studies described
the changes in universal credit as
“well targeted at those who find it difficult to cope with
the six week wait”?
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. What we have been doing
is making changes to universal credit to make sure it works
for absolutely everybody. We have rolled it out gradually to
make sure it is effective, unlike the previous botched
efforts of tax credits under the previous Labour Government.
We have learned the lessons. We are helping more people get
into employment. We have the lowest unemployment since 1975,
and the people who have benefited most are the lowest earners
in our society.
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(Bishop Auckland)
(Lab)
Universal credit is being rolled out in Bishop Auckland over
Christmas, affecting 10,000 households. On the Government’s
figures, we know that it will take £20 million out of the
local economy. Surely the Minister can see that that is bad
for jobs and bad for local shops.
-
With respect, I do not think the hon. Lady is taking into
account the extra income that those families will earn
because they are more likely to be in work under universal
credit. That is where the benefit is. Rather than keeping
people in a poverty trap, where they were losing £1 for every
extra £1 they were earning, work always pays under universal
credit, and people are able to earn the money they need to
support their families.
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