Contributions
992 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationMay I just clarify, if it was not clear yesterday when we had oral questions, that the Government had previously committed to hold a debate on the affirmative regulations in…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationI have set out our timetable, but my hon. Friend is absolutely right that the legacy benefits system is incredibly complicated. I mentioned that we have £2.4 billion under-claimed…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is the experience of colleagues on the Government Benches when we talk to people— [ Interruption. ] Well, I would just say to the…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationThe hon. Member for Wirral West (Margaret Greenwood) asked earlier why the Secretary of State is not here. The reason is that she is in Cabinet. Her commitment is absolutely…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationPerhaps the hon. Lady was not listening. I have already set out the extra funding we have brought forward. I wish she would support this. Of course, as we go through this process…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationI thank my right hon. and learned Friend for his support. We have always said there will be a test phase, and that is what we will have. He is absolutely right to highlight that…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationAs I said yesterday, I know the right hon. Gentleman takes these issues extremely seriously, but so do we. That is why we introduced a change last year to ensure that advances of…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationDifferent countries will have different welfare arrangements. It is important for us to have a welfare system that not only provides support but is sustainable and ultimately…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationMy hon. Friend raises an important point. During the test period, we will be testing a number of approaches to moving claimants on to universal credit safely and in the most…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationI thank my hon. Friend, who works incredibly hard for his constituents. He is right to highlight that universal credit works extremely well for the vast majority of people, and of…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationThe hon. Lady takes a great deal of interest in this area, so she will have seen the regulations that are currently before the House. If I may repeat myself, we have committed to…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationOf course I will meet with the hon. Lady, as I have done previously on issues she has raised. As a general rule, one would not expect deductions to be more than 40% of a standard…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationMy hon. Friend is very knowledgeable about these matters, as a former member of the Select Committee on Work and Pensions. We are in the process of designing the pilot. As I have…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationWe want to make sure that the process of moving on to universal credit works for everyone. I am sorry if I repeat myself when I talk about the extra £1.5 billion. I said earlier…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationI thank my hon. Friend for his kind comments. I hope it is clear to colleagues on both sides of the House that my door is open. When colleagues come with individual cases, I do…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationAs I have said—I am sorry if I have to keep repeating myself—we want to make sure that universal credit works for absolutely everyone. Wherever we sit in the House, we want our…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationMy hon. Friend raises an important point. We talk about stakeholders. We held an event for 70 stakeholders in October. We are working on work streams with stakeholders looking at…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationAs the hon. Lady will know, once universal credit is rolled out, there will be £2 billion more in the system than under the legacy welfare system. I know she cares deeply about…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationAs I have said, we want to get this right for everyone, and where there are individual cases, of course we will take them up, but the hon. Gentleman seems to imply that, under the…08 Jan 2019HANSARD Universal Credit: Managed MigrationI would be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss that suggestion and see what is possible, but, as he will know, we have a new arrangement with Citizens Advice and Citizens…08 Jan 2019