Contributions
1,402 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTopical QuestionsSanctions quite rightly play a role in the work of work coaches and jobcentres, because the provision of benefits involves a contract between the jobcentre and those receiving…23 Jan 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Lady raises an interesting and important point. We are certainly in discussions with DLUHC about those kinds of matters—perhaps I will leave it at that.23 Jan 2023HANSARDLocal Housing AllowanceFirst, on behalf of the whole House, may I welcome the hon. Member for City of Chester (Samantha Dixon) to this House, and wish her every happiness and a productive time in the…05 Dec 2022HANSARDLocal Housing AllowanceAs the hon. Gentleman will know, annually I review all benefits, including LHA—indeed, around this time next year, I will do precisely that. It has to be borne in mind that we are…05 Dec 2022HANSARDLocal Housing AllowanceAs I have just indicated, I will review that in just under a year. There are of course the discretionary housing payments, which are administered by local authorities for those…05 Dec 2022HANSARDLocal Housing AllowanceI did of course very carefully consider the points that the hon. Lady has made, just as I very carefully considered the extent to which there should be an uprating of benefits…05 Dec 2022HANSARDLocal Housing AllowanceThe hon. Gentleman rightly raises inflation, which we are all having to contend with at the moment. That is why my right hon. Friend the Chancellor came before the House at the…05 Dec 2022HANSARDLocal Housing AllowanceAs I set out, the amount being spent on housing and housing support is almost £30 billion a year. That has grown strongly over the last decade or so and is on a trajectory to…05 Dec 2022HANSARDCost of Living: People on Low IncomesIn 2022-23, the Government provided £37 billion in cost of living support. We also uprated benefits, pensions and the benefit cap, as I described in previous answers.05 Dec 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsOn assisting the disabled into employment, this Government have an excellent record through Disability Confident. Our work coaches do a huge amount of work to ensure that those…05 Dec 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsAs the right hon. Gentleman will know, we look at our budgets on an ongoing basis. Where we have an underspend, such as on the Restart scheme, it is largely because the Government…05 Dec 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. The talented and hard-working people at Kings Norton jobcentre do an extraordinary job, and I know he has personally done a great deal to…05 Dec 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsSince my last appearance at Question Time, there has been the benefits uprating we have been discussing this afternoon. I am very pleased to have had a 10.1% increase across the…05 Dec 2022HANSARDBenefit FraudMy right hon. Friend has raised an extremely important matter. Unfortunately, fraud does not happen just at the level of the individual, but involves organised crime as well.…05 Dec 2022HANSARDBenefit FraudDealing with fraud is, of course, a key mission for the Department. We have recently announced two tranches of additional investment totalling £900 million to prevent more than £1…05 Dec 2022HANSARDCost of Living: People on Low IncomesOn deductions from universal credit, the hon. Lady will know that, during the pandemic, when things were extremely difficult, we paused that entire process. As a matter of…05 Dec 2022HANSARDCost of Living: People on Low IncomesI am rather surprised that the hon. Lady raises unemployment, in particular. Under Labour, we saw unemployment rise by nearly half a million; female unemployment go up by a…05 Dec 2022HANSARDCost of Living: People on Low IncomesThe vouchers that are administered by the energy companies come under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, rather than the DWP. None the less,…05 Dec 2022HANSARDCost of Living: People on Low IncomesI am very sorry to hear the details of the hon. Lady’s constituent; if she writes to me, I will be happy to look into the matters that she raised. More generally, it is only fair…05 Dec 2022HANSARDCost of Living: People on Low IncomesOn the discretionary housing payments, I believe the figure is about £1.5 billion over the last few years, but I will get— [ Interruption. ] There was a recent announcement about…05 Dec 2022