Contributions
233 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionThe purpose of universal credit is to replace an outdated benefits system, ensuring that people are better off in work and that support is targeted to the most vulnerable. We…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionI thank my hon. Friend for his question. He has raised this issue with us before. He is right that we need to ensure that universal credit delivers on what it intends to do, which…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionI am afraid the right hon. Gentleman is a little ahead in his fulsome praise for me, which I always appreciate. As I said to him in the Select Committee before Christmas, I will…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionI am sorry to hear of the particular situation the hon. Gentleman raises. He must write to me, and of course I will take a careful look at it. However, I would just say also that…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionI thank my hon. Friend for giving me the opportunity to clarify that. It is such an important point that by 2020 the total system will cost approximately £62 billion, which is £2…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionI thank the hon. Lady for drawing that to my attention. I am aware of the changes that need to be made and some of the things that have already been addressed, but I will write to…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionI thank my hon. Friend for raising that point. I know she shares my concern that we must ensure that universal credit addresses the needs of the most vulnerable and that, where it…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionThe hon. Lady is right that we now have 1.4 million people on universal credit and we expect another 1.6 million to move on to it during the next 12 months as part of natural…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionMay I particularly thank the people in the Rugby jobcentre? I have had an opportunity to visit many different jobcentres since being appointed, and I find universally that the…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionThe hon. Gentleman will be aware that the whole principle of universal credit is test and learn, and so we are always looking to make changes and improvements. This is a…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionI think that the hon. Gentleman misunderstands me. I am completely committed to the benefits of universal credit and to ensuring that it remains a force for good, helps people…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionI am grateful for a second opportunity to clarify the situation. As we announced last year, there will be a 10,000-person pilot this summer that will help us to learn how to be…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: TransitionI would ask the hon. Lady to think again about her approach to universal credit. It is doing a good job. I urge all Members who have not had the opportunity to visit their…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Helping People into WorkThere are many good reasons why universal credit is effective at helping people into work. The most important is that the legacy system disincentivised people from taking up work,…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Helping People into WorkI thank my hon. Friend for drawing this to my attention. I thank the Witney jobcentre for the work that it does in helping people into work, and I also thank him for his work on…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Helping People into WorkI suspect that if she speaks to the jobcentre there, she will be reassured that the number of people being paid on time has vastly risen—07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Helping People into WorkI hope that the hon. Lady has seen an improvement since the roll-out started in Crewe and Nantwich—07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Helping People into WorkI thank my hon. Friend for drawing my attention to the good work being done by the Stourbridge jobcentre and its work coaches. He really highlights the other true benefit of…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Helping People into WorkMy hon. Friend is right. Important though anecdotal evidence is—that is what MPs collect when they visit their job centres—it will also be absolutely critical to have full…07 Jan 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Helping People into WorkI would ask the hon. Lady to come back to me, if she will, and to have a conversation about this. It is absolutely true that when universal credit initially started, the payments…07 Jan 2019