Contributions
959 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTopical QuestionsIt is a one-off payment, so, in effect, it is treated as income as it would be for tax purposes. Over the course of a year it would of course balance out. It is important to…27 Jan 2020HANSARDTopical QuestionsAs I said earlier, no one has to wait five weeks for their first payment. People are able to get their initial payment on day one, repayable over 12 months—16 months as of next…27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit: Transitional SupportI do not want anyone to feel that they have no choice but to visit a food bank. What is really important for me is understanding the drivers of food bank use. I work very closely…27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit: Transitional SupportSNP Members were certainly notified that I was coming. If I get the opportunity, I would very much like to visit the hon. Lady’s constituency. It is important to say that, once…27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit: Transitional SupportI visit constituencies all around the country. Only last week I was in Scotland visiting numerous jobcentres.27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit: Transitional SupportI thank my hon. Friend for that question and welcome him to his place. He is a strong local champion, hence his election. I would of course be very happy to visit Warrington.27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit: Transitional SupportI am getting a strong steer that Members would like me to take a good look at this policy area, and I thank my hon. Friend for his suggestion. As he knows, we are always looking…27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit: Transitional SupportThe Department is working with a range of organisations to support claimants transitioning to universal credit, building on the success of the Help to Claim scheme, which is…27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit: Monthly Assessment PeriodAs I have already said in answer to two other colleagues, the amount of universal credit paid to claimants reflects as closely as possible the actual circumstances of a household…27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit: Monthly Assessment PeriodMonthly assessment periods align to the way the majority of employees are paid and also allow UC to be adjusted each month. They scrap the cliff edges that blighted the legacy…27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit Roll-outI thank my hon. Friend for that question, and I welcome her to her place. Compared with the system it replaces, universal credit will, in total, give claimants an extra £2.1…27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit Roll-outAs much as I would love to give my right hon. Friend that assurance, I cannot do so, but I assure him that I am working on it. Universal credit is based on real-time earnings…27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit Roll-outUniversal credit provides a safety net but, importantly, does not trap people in welfare. The hon. Lady is right that we are running a pilot in Harrogate. The numbers are…27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit Roll-outThe hon. Gentleman characteristically asks a very good question. Universal credit is based on real-terms earnings information, so it is a complex problem. We are subject to…27 Jan 2020HANSARDUniversal Credit Roll-outA record 32.9 million people are in work in this country, up by over 3.8 million since 2010. Universal credit has successfully rolled out and is now available in every jobcentre,…27 Jan 2020HANSARDIn-Work PovertyMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Institute for Fiscal Studies slammed Labour’s pledge to scrap universal credit as uncosted and “unwise…expensive, disruptive and…27 Jan 2020HANSARDLocal Housing AllowanceI am announcing that from April 2020 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates will be increased in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), ending the freeze to the local housing…13 Jan 2020HANSARD Child Poverty in ScotlandI will talk about in-work poverty, because that issue was raised. We take child poverty extremely seriously. I raise the additional 3.6 million people in work—around 1,000 per day…30 Oct 2019HANSARD Child Poverty in ScotlandIt is not the case that we have just pushed people into low-paid and insecure, part-time work—I do not know whether that is the point the hon. Lady is making. However, it is…30 Oct 2019HANSARD Child Poverty in ScotlandI look closely at all elements within my portfolio. Universal credit is probably the largest element of my portfolio, newly added in the most recent reshuffle. On the first…30 Oct 2019