Contributions
1,402 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDUprating of BenefitsI am currently conducting my statutory annual review of state pensions and benefit rates. The outcome of that review will be announced in due course.31 Oct 2022HANSARDUniversal Credit: Food InsecurityI am not going to pre-empt my decision on the uprating of benefits or indeed the triple lock. We will need to wait until at least 17 November when my right hon. Friend the…31 Oct 2022HANSARDUniversal Credit: Food InsecurityI begin by recognising the important work that the right hon. Gentleman carries out as Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee and thank him for the co-operation that he showed…31 Oct 2022HANSARDEconomically Inactive PeopleI have taken a personal vow not to engage in too much Punch and Judy politics with the hon. Lady during Question Time, so I will not talk about what happens to unemployment when…31 Oct 2022HANSARDEconomically Inactive PeopleWe already have a local skills improvement plan, but I would be delighted to listen to the hon. Lady’s thoughts; we are always happy to share best practice, and to learn from her…31 Oct 2022HANSARDEconomically Inactive PeopleMy right hon. Friend’s analysis is entirely right. We have an overheated labour market and a high number of vacancies, and the key issue that businesses up and down the country…31 Oct 2022HANSARDEconomically Inactive PeopleI thank the right hon. Gentleman for his warm words. That is a question that would probably be best answered by the Department of Health and Social Care, and I would be happy to…31 Oct 2022HANSARDEconomically Inactive PeopleI recognise the great work that my right hon. Friend did as a Secretary of State. There are 820,000 young people out of work and not in full-time education, and he is right that…31 Oct 2022HANSARDEconomically Inactive PeopleI could not agree more with the hon. Gentleman. He is right to raise the issue of economic activity. That will be a major focus of mine as Secretary of State: we have 9 million…31 Oct 2022HANSARDEconomically Inactive PeopleI agree entirely with my hon. Friend that work is the best route out of poverty, and in that regard I commend her for her private Member’s Bill, which the Department is pleased to…31 Oct 2022HANSARDEconomically Inactive PeopleThe labour market has recovered strongly since 2020, with payroll employment up on the pre-pandemic level in all 12 regions of the United Kingdom. We have comprehensive support in…31 Oct 2022HANSARDCold Weather PaymentsMy hon. Friend is right to raise this very important benefit, pension credit. He will be aware that the Department has been fully engaged in encouraging pensioners who will…31 Oct 2022HANSARDCold Weather PaymentsThank you, Mr Speaker. I also associate myself with your remarks regarding Paul Pelosi and the Speaker in the United States. Our thoughts are with them both. It is a huge honour…31 Oct 2022HANSARDEconomic UpdateI welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. It was both frank and bold, and it appears—in the very short term, at least—to have steadied the markets. One point that he raised at…17 Oct 2022HANSARDEconomic SituationMy right hon. Friend the Chancellor was quite right to bring forward the date for the medium-term fiscal plan and the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast. He now has, of…12 Oct 2022HANSARDGrowth Plan: OBR AssessmentI very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s decision to bring forward the medium-term plan and the OBR forecast; he has listened, and he is right. However, may I caution him to…11 Oct 2022HANSARDThe Growth PlanI welcome much in this statement. There is a great deal that will help millions of families and businesses up and down the country. There is, however, a vast void at the centre of…23 Sept 2022HANSARDTributes to Her Late Majesty The QueenI rise to pay tribute to a very remarkable and wonderful lady, not just on my own behalf but on behalf of the constituents of Central Devon. Queen Elizabeth II, our…09 Sept 2022HANSARD UK Energy CostsI rise broadly to welcome these measures. We know that we live in terribly difficult times. Yesterday the Treasury Committee took evidence from the Governor of the Bank of England…08 Sept 2022HANSARD Financial Services and Markets BillI rise to broadly support the Bill. I echo the congratulations of my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Rishi Sunak) to my hon. Friend the Member for Salisbury…07 Sept 2022