Contributions
233 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDWork and PensionsOur safety net is one of the strongest in the world. We deliver the fourth most generous level of welfare support in the OECD. In this financial year, total welfare spending will…15 Jul 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thank the hon. Gentleman for his work in this area, and I reassure him that there have been several meetings with Marie Curie on this subject. I will take an interest in the…01 Jul 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Lady may be aware that I have some concerns about no deal; I would much prefer that this country chooses to leave the European Union on the basis of a deal, and I am…01 Jul 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thank the hon. Lady for raising this question, and I am mindful of the Select Committee report that addressed some of it. We have now made changes so that women going into work…01 Jul 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsWe have made substantial responses to Philip Alston’s report. We have acknowledged some of his suggestions, and we will look at changing our assessments on poverty by using the…01 Jul 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thank my right hon. Friend for being such a great champion of people with disabilities and tackling the challenges they have in the workplace, and I must say that the example he…01 Jul 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Roll-outI thank my hon. Friend for his important question and for setting up the visit, which was so useful and purposeful. I do note that when I went to the jobcentre and met the work…01 Jul 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Roll-outThat is largely correct. The only issue here is about the evidence that people now have to supply which they did not have to supply before. I know that there are a number of…01 Jul 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Roll-outI am aware that the hon. Gentleman has raised this matter before and has had a number of meetings with the Minister for Employment. As a result of some of those meetings, we have…01 Jul 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am taking this case very seriously, and I have had the right hon. Gentleman’s letter. At the moment, we are doing an internal inquiry, and if the right hon Gentleman will leave…01 Jul 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Roll-outI will try not to be distracted by the hon. Gentleman’s slightly personal remarks. He might know that I visited Scotland last week, and the Scottish Government have taken their…01 Jul 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Roll-outAgain, I point to the fact that there are different ways of addressing poverty, both child poverty and family poverty: one is to hand out money, which is what the Scottish…01 Jul 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Roll-outIn answer to the first part of the hon. Gentleman’s question, which is about assistance in getting the applications through, we announced in April this year the help-to-claim…01 Jul 2019HANSARDDepartmental OrganisationAlthough I recognise the good work that the hon. Gentleman has done in many of these areas, I respectfully disagree. I think that it is right that those elements are held together…01 Jul 2019HANSARDDepartmental OrganisationI thank my hon. Friend for that question, and may I take this opportunity to pay homage to the extraordinary work that she did to ensure that took place? The point of having an…01 Jul 2019HANSARDDepartmental OrganisationI can reassure the hon. Gentleman that we are working with Lloyds, for instance, to ensure that basic bank accounts are more available. May I also take this opportunity to join…01 Jul 2019HANSARDDepartmental OrganisationI say quickly to the hon. Lady on the Opposition Front Bench that we are seeing the lowest levels of pensioner poverty, as well as the highest levels of employment.01 Jul 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Roll-outThe national roll-out of universal credit was completed in December 2018. As of May 2019, there are now more than 2 million people claiming universal credit, and of those, 34% are…01 Jul 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsNow that we have moved from the design to the implementation of universal credit we continue to seek ways to ensure that it is a fair, compassionate benefit that takes account of…01 Jul 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: Access to Legal AidI am surprised to hear that question from the hon. Lady. According to my experience and the evidence that I have received during my conversations with the Ministry of Justice,…01 Jul 2019