Contributions
965 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceI will come to the review that we will be conducting, but let me make the general point that we in the Government ought to be able to understand the realities of life and take…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceAs the hon. Member knows, the Department is not responsible for the delivery of social security benefits in Northern Ireland, but I am sure that Northern Ireland’s Department for…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceObviously whistleblowing is very important. The Hillsborough law that is being introduced is not my responsibility, so the hon. Lady will understand that I cannot go over it…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceI thank the hon. Member for his intervention. I am sure that many Members will want to provide their views to the review, which is welcome. I will come to some of the steps we…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceIn a moment. If the results of the pilot are positive, that will be the first step towards addressing the overpayments problem. I know that we need to do much more, and there are…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceI thank the right hon. Member for his question. I went through the details of what the review will look at just a moment ago, but there are wider problems with support for carers.…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceI will make a bit of progress. We are looking closely at how the benefits system currently works, and it is right that the Government focus on addressing overpayments of carer’s…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceI apologise, Mr Speaker. You would think that after 14 years I would be able to get it right.16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceYes, 14 years. It just goes to show that every day in this House is a school day. Thank you, Mr Speaker; I always welcome your suggestions. I cannot pre-empt the Secretary of…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceApologies, but I feel that I should keep going. Means-tested benefits can help where appropriate. Universal credit, for example, pays an extra £2,400 a year to unpaid family…16 Oct 2024HANSARDCarer’s AllowanceOur country is in a very serious financial situation indeed. As I said at the beginning of my speech, anyone who thinks that the issue of care ought not to be right at the top of…16 Oct 2024HANSARDJobcentre Access: Rural AreasI thank the hon. Member for bringing that point to the House; it is a major focus of the work that is currently going into the White Paper. We have had very worrying developments…07 Oct 2024HANSARDAccess to Work ProgrammeI agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. Disabled people have the right to work like everybody else. We have an ambition to see an 80% employment rate in this country, and we…07 Oct 2024HANSARDAccess to Work ProgrammeI thank my hon. Friend for her question. Labour’s manifesto said that we will tackle the backlog of Access to Work claims, and we will. We have improved the process and increased…07 Oct 2024HANSARDJobcentre Access: Rural AreasWe need jobcentres to be better everywhere, including those in rural areas with unique challenges. In the autumn we will publish a White Paper on our plans to transform the…07 Oct 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsI assure my hon. Friend that we will work with the Welsh Government, Welsh local authorities and all our colleagues across the United Kingdom to get the policy right for young…07 Oct 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend is an absolute expert on this kind of inclusive change that we need to make to our employment support system so that we can help everybody, and I look forward to…07 Oct 2024HANSARDBenefit SanctionsI thank my hon. Friend for her question and, through her, I would like to thank Gingerbread for its work on this issue. There have always been, and always will be, conditions…07 Oct 2024HANSARDBenefit SanctionsIn May 2019 the universal credit sanction rate was 3.17%. It reduced considerably during the pandemic, gradually returning to 3.51% by November 2021. It then continued to rise,…07 Oct 2024HANSARDJobcentre Access: Rural AreasI thank my hon. Friend again for her very welcome point. Housing associations are extremely important for connecting with residents, who often have multiple vulnerabilities. When…07 Oct 2024