Contributions
959 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Child Poverty in ScotlandIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir David. I congratulate the hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Hugh Gaffney) on securing this important…30 Oct 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsChildcare provision is far more generous under universal credit than it was under the legacy benefits system. Another recent change is that the flexible support fund can now be…07 Oct 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: WagesUniversal credit takes earnings into account in a way that is fair and transparent. The amount of universal credit paid reflects as closely as possible the actual circumstances of…07 Oct 2019HANSARDIn-work PovertySince 2010, there are over 3.7 million more people in work and 730,000 fewer children growing up in workless households. About three quarters of employment growth has been in…07 Oct 2019HANSARDIn-work PovertyI totally disagree with the hon. Gentleman’s comments. We are committed to helping lone parents into a job that fits around their caring responsibilities. There are now more than…07 Oct 2019HANSARDIn-work PovertyI thank my hon. Friend for raising that matter. I have not seen the report, so I will go away and dig it out. We have invested £8 million to develop the evidence on what works to…07 Oct 2019HANSARDIn-work PovertyThe statistics show that full-time work reduces substantially the chances of poverty. The absolute poverty rate for children where both parents work full-time is only 4%, compared…07 Oct 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: WagesAs I said, monthly assessment periods align with the way that the majority of employees are paid and allow universal credit to be adjusted each month, which means that, if a…07 Oct 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: WagesAs I have said, the amount of UC paid to claimants reflects as closely as possible the actual circumstances of a household during each monthly assessment period, and those periods…07 Oct 2019HANSARDUniversal Credit: WagesThe simple answer to my right hon. Friend is yes, I am looking at ways in which we can do this. It is important to put this in context: UC replaces the outdated and complex…07 Oct 2019HANSARDChild PovertyThis Government take child poverty extremely seriously. The evidence shows that work is the best route out of poverty and that there are 730,000 fewer children in workless…07 Oct 2019HANSARDChild PovertyThis is probably a question for the Department for Education, but we are supporting more than 1 million children with free school meals, investing up to £26 million in school…07 Oct 2019HANSARDChild PovertyI think that this one has been answered several times already, but advance payments of up to 100% are available from day one of a universal credit claim and budgeting support is…07 Oct 2019HANSARDChild PovertyI humbly suggest that few Members in the Chamber have raised child and infant mortality more than I have. I take the issue incredibly seriously and I have read that report. No one…07 Oct 2019HANSARDTopical QuestionsI do agree with the hon. Gentleman that secure and stable accommodation is one route out of poverty. It will come as no surprise to him that I raise this issue regularly with my…07 Oct 2019HANSARD Child Poverty: LeicesterIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Moon. I thank the hon. Member for Leicester West (Liz Kendall) for securing this debate, and for her very passionate and…01 Oct 2019HANSARDLocal Housing Allowance and HomelessnessDiscretionary housing payments are a tool that is available—24 Jul 2019HANSARDLocal Housing Allowance and HomelessnessNot necessarily. They have been available since 2011, and more than £1 billion has been made available to local authorities. Quite intentionally, we allow local authorities…24 Jul 2019HANSARDLocal Housing Allowance and HomelessnessThe right hon. Gentleman refers to rough sleeping. Often people lump homelessness and rough sleeping together, but there is a huge difference between them. The Government are…24 Jul 2019HANSARDLocal Housing Allowance and HomelessnessIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bailey. I, too, thank the hon. Member for Ealing, Southall (Mr Sharma) for securing this important debate, and colleagues…24 Jul 2019