Contributions
959 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBenefit Overpayments: Covid-19There are currently no plans to extend the suspension of benefit deductions. Action to restart deductions commenced on 6 July and should be completed by mid-November. We recognise…19 Oct 2020HANSARDLegacy Benefits and Universal CreditThe hon. Lady is right is that she has asked this question on three occasions, and she has had three answers. The legacy benefits were increased by 1.7% in April 2020, following…19 Oct 2020HANSARDLegacy Benefits and Universal CreditI too pay tribute to the brilliant work coaches in Workington Jobcentre Plus, who I know have done an incredible job in particular around partnership working, and I can point to…19 Oct 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Lady is absolutely right—this issue is a concern for me and has been for some time. I am working closely with my counterpart at MHCLG and would be delighted to meet the…19 Oct 2020HANSARDBenefit Fraud InvestigationsI would be very happy to meet the hon. Lady to receive more details about that individual case, but first let me apologise, because that should not have happened. In effect,…19 Oct 2020HANSARDBenefit Fraud InvestigationsThe Department does not take benefit fraud lightly, and we are committed to using the full range of powers and penalties at our disposal. As part of our response to covid-19, we…19 Oct 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit: Poverty ReductionOne child in poverty is one child too many. We at the Department are continuing to work with Her Majesty’s Treasury and other Government Departments to monitor the evolving…19 Oct 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit: Poverty ReductionThe latest statistics from 2018-19 show that the rates and numbers of people in absolute poverty were lower than in 2010. Since those statistics were published, we have injected a…19 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19 Support: EligibilityI know that my right hon. Friend has campaigned hard on the subject. The question may be better directed at the Chancellor of the Exchequer or Ministers from Her Majesty’s…19 Oct 2020HANSARDUniversal Basic IncomeI will gladly meet the hon. Gentleman at some point in the future and look at that in further detail—but why have those countries not progressed? On the issue of the pilot, not…13 Oct 2020HANSARDUniversal Basic IncomeI thank the Backbench Business Committee for granting time for this important debate, and all Members who contributed. I will try to address as many of the points that they raised…13 Oct 2020HANSARDUniversal Basic Incomeindicated dissent.13 Oct 2020HANSARDUniversal Basic IncomeI will have to write to the hon. Gentleman about the CSJ report, because I do not have it to hand.13 Oct 2020HANSARDUniversal Basic IncomeThe point I am making is that when we even begin to think about introducing a UBI, we see that not only would the cost be astronomical, but the Government would have to increase…13 Oct 2020HANSARDUniversal Basic IncomeI have given way once already; if I can give way again at the end, I will. As I was saying, the Finnish Finance Minister concluded that there must be conditionality—that is the…13 Oct 2020HANSARDUniversal Basic IncomeI thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention and I hear the call that he and other Members across the Chamber make for a UBI pilot, but in rebuttal I say, “Show me the…13 Oct 2020HANSARDWelfare Benefits: Rent ArrearsFirst, I welcome the hon. Lady to her place on the Front Bench. I am afraid that I have to start by disagreeing. It is wrong to attribute a rise in rent arrears solely to…14 Sept 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy right hon. Friend is a passionate advocate for hard-working people. He tempts me to set Treasury policy, which I fear the Chancellor of the Exchequer would not take kindly to,…14 Sept 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsMy hon. Friend rightly pays tribute to the incredible team at Harrogate Jobcentre Plus. As he knows, we have seen a surge of over 3 million claims since mid-March, and I agree…14 Sept 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsI thank the hon. Lady for her question. The Department has an ongoing positive relationship with a range of food bank providers. It has regularly engaged with them throughout the…14 Sept 2020