Affordable Homes Bill

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Friday 5th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Nuttall]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for making that point, which he will hear a little more about in my speech.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

I want to ask about the downsizing and housing allocation point. The hon. Gentleman and I represent relatively similar constituencies, which are both parts of Greater Manchester. In my area, 1,636 people were affected by the bedroom tax in March 2013. A year later, the figure was 300 less, but only 59 of those 300 people have been able to downsize. That suggests that it is simply not possible for downsizing to happen in the real world in the way that Conservative MPs believe it will. What is the figure for Bury? If it is a similar figure, surely that should ring alarm bells for the hon. Gentleman about the policy not working as he believes it should.

[Mr Nuttall]

I think that the policy is working in all parts of the country. The facts show that, as time goes on, people are dealing with it in different ways.

[Jonathan Reynolds]

Does the hon. Gentleman know the figure for Bury North if he is making that claim? I think that the figures are remarkable.

[Mr Nuttall]

I do not have that set of figures in front of me, but the hon. Gentleman probably has them. The point is that in all parts of the country, the people who are affected by this measure are dealing with it in different ways. Many of them are finding smaller accommodation to live in. Some of them are choosing to continue living in the accommodation that they are in and to make up the shortfall caused by the deduction from their housing benefit from other resources.

amendment of the law

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Tuesday 25th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for calling me to speak in the Budget debate. This Budget was announced at a significant time in this Parliament, coming as it did in a year when, under the usual political time scale, we would all be facing an imminent general election. Indeed it is hard to imagine that originally it was the Government’s intent to use the new five-year Parliament to eradicate the deficit in just four years, leaving scope to offer significant tax cuts in the year ahead. Clearly, that is not where we are today.

Looking at the principal economic objectives the Chancellor set for this Parliament, it is unfortunate that he has not met any of them. Not only is the deficit still extremely large, but we are also still well below the pre-crisis peak, which is not acknowledged by those on the Government Benches. We have not seen a significant rebalancing of the economy, either sectorally or geographically, or a significant boost to exports as we become a more productive, goods-based economy.

To be fair to the Chancellor, I wonder how many of us who make speeches from the Back Benches re-read our own contributions from previous Budget debates before speaking. Certainly, there are a few Government Members who are welcoming levels of debt and deficit today that are much worse than those they opposed four years ago when the Darling plan was before us, but perhaps that is the nature of politics.

One thing that has stayed constant for me in every year that we have had a Budget debate is the sense of permanent inadequacy from the Government that they really have a plan to ensure the UK’s future prosperity in the post-financial crisis era. The 2008 financial crisis was the most profound economic crisis we have had in this country for decades. It was also the biggest political and moral crisis that we have faced, and I do not get any sense from the Government that they aspire to build anything different from what went so badly wrong last time around.

We remain an economy too dependent on the south-east and the housing market and too complacent about where our growth comes from and the quality, not just the quantity, of the work that that creates. In many families, wages no longer keep pace with inflation, and living standards are declining as a result. Very few people in my constituency are genuinely feeling any sort of economic recovery at all. It does not have to be that way. The UK has a serious chance of becoming the largest economy in Europe during the life time of most of us in the Chamber today, which is largely as a result of some of the quite contentious decisions—particularly those on immigration— made by the previous Government. That chance to ensure that we secure and expand our future prosperity is what I wish to talk about today. I have four key points.

First, we must be enthusiastic about Britain being a country that is open and outward facing to the world. That means recognising the benefits that immigration can bring. I strongly support what has been said on the Opposition Benches about preventing abuses and exploitation in immigration because that is how we will win back public support. We should not shoot ourselves in the foot, as the Government have done by including foreign students in the net migration target. Foreign students bring in £8 billion a year to the UK, and that is just in the benefits we can count, and it is madness to dissuade them from coming here. It also means something far more difficult for this Government, which is ensuring that we stay as full and active members of the European Union. There are many specific reasons to stay in the EU. I visited Nissan in Sunderland a few weeks ago, and found it to be an incredible place. I grew up in Sunderland in the 1980s, at a time of large-scale industrial upheaval, with the shipyards and the mines going, and it was fantastic to see such brilliant industrial success back in Sunderland. Amazingly, workers make almost as many cars in that one factory in Sunderland as French workers do in six Renault factories and the factory offers thousands of well-paid skilled jobs.

There are no ifs and no buts about it: those jobs are dependent on our membership of the European Union and we would be crazy to throw that away. More profoundly, if we were ever to leave the EU it would undoubtedly be read by the rest of the world as a sign that we were withdrawing into isolation, regardless of any protestations that might be made. We could simply never afford to do that. Of course, there is much we need to do to reform Europe, but we must be clear that we are in the EU for good and reap the investment and prosperity that will go with that.

Secondly, we must unleash more of the talent we have in this country. One of the figures the Government cite most regularly is the number of apprenticeships that have been created since 2010. That has largely been done by rebadging workplace training schemes such as Train to Gain as apprenticeships, which I do not think is too bad as a policy, but there is a question of quality versus quantity in what is being offered. Any workplace training is a good thing, but we need to protect the brand of apprenticeships as a route into a career and not just as in-job training if we are to succeed. As one of the co-chairs of the all-party group on manufacturing, I am repeatedly told how outdated perceptions of manufacturing and engineering are still big barriers to getting young people involved and we need to acknowledge that. An apprenticeship should give someone a career and a status that is widely understood. That is why I favour the idea of a national baccalaureate for everyone leaving secondary education, with core subjects in maths and English but the possibility of specialisation in technical skills if people want that.

In addition, we need to get serious about devolving economic power to cities and regions. For the first few years of this Parliament, in a large part of the north we had rising unemployment and a rising skills shortage. Local enterprise partnerships, outside my own in Greater Manchester, leave me a little unconvinced but there must be something now that the regional development agencies have gone. The first Chancellor to understand the benefits of devolving resources and decision making will reap huge benefits.

In Greater Manchester we currently spend £21 billion a year and raise £17 billion in taxes. If we had more of a say over spending that £21 billion, we could easily turn the deficit into a surplus, but the Government’s rhetoric on localism has so far proved hollow. “More Heseltine, less Pickles,” should be their motto.

It would be wrong to think that the national Government do not have a role, but they should just do what they do best. To get our economy right, we need many institutions and real industrial strategies, not just side projects for BIS that do not have wider Government support. Renewable energy, for instance, particularly wind power, is a crucial part of the UK’s future and we have all welcomed the decision made by Siemens today. However, although DECC and BIS champion it, DCLG holds up every onshore wind power application it can get in the way of. It is pathetic.

We need consensus on and a step change in investment and the Armitt review and independent infrastructure commission seem to me to be the best way to achieve that.

Finally, we need to orient our economy to the challenges of the future. I have very little interest in who the Prime Minister picks for his Cabinet, but I would simply say that we will not win the global race with people who have not yet got round to accepting that climate change exists.

The Government, by their own admission, have not met any of their aspirations for this Parliament. They have created a weaker, more insecure and more divided nation than the one they inherited. In some areas, such as through their flirtation with the Eurosceptic right’s desire to leave the EU, they have threatened to undermine some of the building blocks of British prosperity. Throughout this Parliament, the Government have failed to deliver and the chance to do that will, I hope, now fall to a different Government.

Inherited Social Housing Tenancies

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Esther McVey]

Does the hon. Gentleman know how much time local authorities spend trying to find houses for people who are either on a housing waiting list or in overcrowded housing when houses have not been freed up? We have said that we will pay for any extra administrative charges. What we now need to do is move this debate on and think about the families and the individuals who need to live in accommodation that suits their purposes.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Minister write to me to tell me how many people in the metropolitan borough of Tameside are affected by the change? From the intimations given to the House so far, identifying these people sounds like quite a time-consuming process. What cost has she estimated to her Department of this announcement today?

[Esther McVey]

I fear that I have answered this question many times, but people keep coming back to it. We know that a very small proportion of people will be affected by this. When the administrative work has been done and costed, we will provide the funds. That is something we will work on.

Universal Credit

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Thursday 31st January 2013 Ministerial Corrections

The following is the answer given by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), to a question from the hon. Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Jonathan Reynolds) during Work and Pensions Question Time on 28 January 2013.

[Jonathan Reynolds]

The Secretary of State is right to say that my local authority of Tameside is one of the pathfinder areas. Conversations that I have had with officers from that authority and the wider public infrastructure show that there is a lot of concern about the lack of detail and support from the Department of Work and Pensions with regard to the implementation. Given that this is just a few months away and is a cause of serious concern, will the Secretary of State reassure me and people in my local area that the Government are on top of this and that implementation will take place as planned?

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Monday 28th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Esther McVey]

We did indeed slow down the roll-out of the reassessments, having listened to the consultation and what various organisations and charities said, but we did not consider that to be significant change to the contract, so we are working closely with both Atos and Capita to ensure the smooth running of the roll-out.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

7. What assessment he has made of the preparations for the introduction of universal credit; and if he will make a statement.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Iain Duncan Smith)]

Early roll-out of universal credit begins with a pathfinder in April 2013 in the Greater Manchester and Cheshire region, including the jobcentre in Ashton-under-Lyne. I am aware that a number of the hon. Gentleman’s constituents will be involved as a result, as will other Members’ constituents, and my Department will write to all of them to invite them to discuss the roll-out.

[Jonathan Reynolds]

The Secretary of State is right to say that my local authority of Tameside is one of the pathfinder areas. Conversations that I have had with officers from that authority and the wider public infrastructure show that there is a lot of concern about the lack of detail and support from the Department of Work and Pensions with regard to the implementation. Given that this is just a few months away and is a cause of serious concern, will the Secretary of State reassure me and people in my local area that the Government are on top of this and that implementation will take place as planned?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

It will—I can give the hon. Gentleman that reassurance. We are discussing this at every level with the local authorities concerned. The process will start at a jobcentre in each of the areas I have mentioned on 29 April, and that will start bringing in childless couples to claim universal credit, rather than jobseeker’s allowance. Over that period, once people are captured into the universal credit system, they will not go back on to jobseeker’s allowance, so a lot of tax-credit people who fall unemployed will move on to universal credit. We are in deep discussions with the regions.[Official Report, 31 January 2013, Vol. 557, c. 6MC.]

Housing Benefit Entitlement

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd January 2013 Westminster Hall

[Phil Wilson]

We should wait until the Minister responds to the debate to find out exactly what the Government propose for that situation, but I do not think that it will be very much really.

Basically, the hypothetical family who I am talking about could be forced to leave the family home, and that is exactly what it is—a family home, not just a house. They will have no space for their grandchildren, who will not be able to stay with their grandparents. For families who are forced to downsize because of the cuts in housing benefit and who are in need of a one-bedroom property, the National Housing Federation has found that, although approximately 180,000 social tenants are under-occupying two-bedroom homes, less than 85,000 one-bedroom social homes are available.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way; he will have a few applications to intervene on him, given the interest in the debate. I completely agree with his analysis of the general impact of the proposal, but will he say something about the complete lack of any exemption? Foster carers, who are doing everything they can for society, will be hit by the proposal between placements. It is absolutely unconscionable. Surely, this cannot be the way for the Government to proceed.

[Phil Wilson]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I will come on to foster carers in a little while.

The lack of mobility in this sector—between two-bedroom properties and one-bedroom properties, for example—is a product not of tenants needlessly under-occupying larger homes, but of the logjam created by a national shortage of affordable homes, particularly two and one-bedroom properties.

Universal Credit and Welfare Reform

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Tuesday 11th September 2012 Commons Chamber

[Charlie Elphicke]

The right hon. Gentleman knows, as I do, that the fine tuning of council tax is still under discussion and still under way, and I hope that that will come out in the wash. I represent a coastal constituency, so I watch that situation carefully, as I know my coastal MP colleagues have been doing. They, too, want to ensure that the low paid in our constituencies are not adversely hit. That is an important point, but it is a fine part of the detailing of the implementation of the policy rather than the overall purpose of the policy, which is to encourage work and to give people more money if they work harder, do better, skill up and get a better job. That is a really important thing.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

The hon. Gentleman is talking a lot about how universal credit will make entering the workplace available to everybody. Is he concerned about the absence of the second earning disregard, which means that the second person in a relationship would not really have that work incentive? Is he concerned that perhaps behind some of this there is an assumption of a model where the man goes out to work and the woman stays behind at home?

[Charlie Elphicke]

The hon. Gentleman lives a bit more in the past than I do; I am the second earner in my household, as many men are in theirs. We Conservatives, as the more progressive party, understand that. He should know—[Interruption.] He has had his go. He should know that second earners in households will not lose out under the universal credit.

One thing that I particularly welcome is that universal credit is progressive; the poorest will gain most, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. It says that the bottom six tenths on income distribution will gain on average, while the richest four tenths will lose out slightly in the long run. This is therefore a progressive policy, benefiting the poorest most.

Atos Healthcare

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Tuesday 4th September 2012 Westminster Hall

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am pleased to be called in this debate. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Tom Greatrex) on securing the debate and on giving a superb speech. I wish to add my voice to those concerned about the operation of the WCA by Atos, and to highlight specific concerns in relation to people with autism.

I accept that we have a problem in the UK with the number of people who are not in the labour market owing to illness or disability. I asked the Library for a comparative analysis across the EU. Although it is hard to make such an analysis given the differences in scope, eligibility and recording of information, the European labour force survey clearly shows that the UK has a much higher proportion of the population aged 20 to 64 outside the work force owing to illness or disability. It is 6.1% in the UK, against an average of 4.3% in the rest of the EU. I think we know why that is. From the Thatcher Government onwards, people were put on the incapacity benefit rolls to hide the true scale of unemployment. There are people who were dumped there in the 1980s who have been there ever since. That is why I do not have a problem with the principle of a medical assessment; otherwise the Government can too easily push people into inappropriate benefits to massage the unemployment figures. Equally, I do not have a problem with three classifications: fit for work, unfit for work; and the possibility of work, but not in the short term, because someone has been out of the labour market for so long.

My concerns and objections relate to the way the Government are allowing Atos to conduct the test. Like other colleagues, my observations are heavily based on the experiences of constituents who have come to see me. It is not sensible, prudent or fair to have a test in which 40% of appeals against decisions are successful. That is a waste of money and it causes unnecessary distress. The Government need to hold Atos to account for an assessment that is clearly not working as it should. Atos is not coping with the complexity of the cases that are seen, and it is clearly struggling to deal with people with complex conditions, particularly those with less visible symptoms. Some specific problems are particularly evident: the Royal National Institute of Blind People has reported that the descriptors against which blind and partially sighted people can score points are primarily those based on navigation and communication, with no account taken of other barriers that blind and partially sighted people might face in obtaining work.

I am one of the vice-chairs of the all-party group on autism, and I remind the House of my declaration of interest in relation to my son. For people with autism, such face-to-face assessment can often be extremely problematic. People with autism face problems with communication that other people would not see. They may misunderstand questions that are asked, find it hard to answer questions, and fail to pick up on inference and assumption. For example, when asked, “Can you travel to work on a bus?”, they may say yes, but not explain that they can use only one bus route, planned with the help of a support worker, provided that the bus is not late or a different colour from usual, or that no other factors have arisen.

In addition, the testing of some people is too frequent. I have a constituent with a degenerative disease who passed one assessment, but failed another within a year. As his condition was degenerative, it was surely medically impossible that he had got better. It does not make sense. At the extreme end, I have heard accounts of people in the support group being tested again after as little as three months. The worry that that causes is exacerbated by the freak results that an assessment can produce. I have another constituent who was deemed fit for work despite having a broken back.

The Government need to listen to the feedback that is coming in across the country about the very real problems in the operation of the WCA. Crucially, they must begin to hold to account private companies with important Government contracts when they do not deliver for the taxpayer. The quality of life of thousands of people depends on getting this right, and that will soon be even more the case given that Atos has won the contract for the personal independence payment assessment. Let us not get into the usual party political rhetoric and stereotypes that tend to mark welfare debates. Let us focus on meaningful changes that will improve many people’s lives.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Monday 5th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Maria Miller)]

I know that blue badges are incredibly important for disabled people in getting out and about and I understand the hon. Gentleman’s concerns. The Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Norman Baker), is looking into the issues to do with blue badges, and I will make sure that he is aware of the comments that have been made.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

T6. Further to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (Gregg McClymont) from the Front Bench, do Ministers agree that the current restrictions on the National Employment Savings Trust that restrict transfers and limit the amount that can be saved each year diminish the pressure on other established providers to bring down their excess costs and charges? While the Government are reflecting on this, surely they are missing an opportunity to make pensions more affordable for everyone.

[Steve Webb]

The previous Government put those restrictions in place for a good reason—to try to make sure that NEST focused on the bottom end of the market. NEST has had a positive effect and new entrants have come into the market, but we are continuing to look at that issue because we are determined to make sure that people have a choice of good-value, low-cost pension providers.

Pensions Bill [Lords]

Jonathan Reynolds Excerpts

Monday 20th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Alex Cunningham]

Could I disagree? I most certainly could not. People in my constituency used to build ships and it has one of the biggest chemical industries in the country. It has people who have worked in difficult circumstances in hard jobs. My hon. Friend is correct that such people cannot expect a longer life, so I think we should make it a little easier for them.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

My hon. Friend is making a fantastic speech and it is great to listen to him. Does he agree that the issue is not just health and longevity, but that even people who are in very good health and will live longer simply cannot rearrange their economic affairs in the time that they have—six years’ notice of two additional years in the case of some of our constituents—to cover the loss of pensionable income that they will sustain when this Bill goes through?

[Alex Cunningham]

That is very much the case. I suppose that there will be an additional few years of misery for some people because they will not have the income to enjoy the things that they see other people enjoying. It is therefore even more important that we raise these issues today.

It is the significant effect on women that worries me. The Bill makes it more likely that those on low incomes will not pay into a pension. Many women have contacted me, incensed that they are losing out thanks to the Government’s changes. It is completely unfair. The Government Members who have talked about fairness need to think about women a little more. A total of 177 MPs signed early-day motion 1402 on the state pension age for women. It is time that the Government backed down on this issue. All afternoon and evening, Government Members have teased us by saying that the Government will change their mind. When the Secretary of State was here, he was shaking his head, but I have seen no such indication from the Minister as the teasing has continued.

Age UK’s report “Not Enough Time” makes it clear that women are unhappy with the plans, and it is worth repeating some of the statistics that it gives. The 330,000 women born in Britain between December 1953 and October 1954 will have to wait 18 months or two years for their state pension, and 33,000 will see their state pension age increase by two years at a loss of £10,000.

I suppose I should declare an interest, because just as I would be caught out if I were a woman, my wife Evaline is one of the women affected. Like others, she has fewer than seven years to plan for the changes. People need sufficient time to plan for the increase in the state pension age, and the changes are happening too fast and causing a lot of worry and anger. It will be the poorest women who suffer the most as a result, those who do not have savings to fall back on and are in low-paid jobs.

Raising the state pension age is necessary, however, to reflect the fact that some people are living longer. We all recognise that, and we need cross-party consensus on it, but we simply cannot afford this unfair treatment of women. It is always worth repeating that the coalition agreement promised that the women’s state pension age would not be raised to 66 before 2020. I do not care about the legal arguments and so on—if the Government are going to do that, they need to explain why. The Bill proposes equalisation of the age by 2018, and then increases to 66 for both men and women by 2020. Moving the goalposts—that cliché again—so late in the day has implications for public trust in the pensions system at a time when it is vital that we encourage more people to save for their retirement.

It is estimated that 7 million people are not saving enough for their retirement, but the Bill would raise the salary level at which someone is automatically enrolled in a pension scheme from about £5,000 to £7,500. That means that 600,000 fewer people will be automatically enrolled in a pension scheme, and again, women will be disproportionately affected. What long-term provision is there in the Bill for that group?

As I said at the start of my speech, I am glad that we are debating these issues today, but I believe that the Government have got the key elements of the Bill wrong. I cannot endorse the way in which a small but significant group of women, including my wife, are being hit by the accelerated pension age rise, nor can I support the changes to auto-enrolment given the problems that I have described. That is why I, too, will vote against the Bill today.