Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann Coffey and Iain Duncan Smith

Monday 11th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Ann Coffey (Stockport) (Lab)]

8. What recent representations he has received on the sharing of data on missing children in the Troubled Families programme.

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

My Department plays a vital role in the cross-Government programme to turn around the lives of our most troubled families, a matter on which the hon. Lady has a long track record. Although I have not received any representations on sharing data on missing children, as we do not deal with them particularly, we are committed to building a clearer picture across Government of how many children are missing from care and where they go. We will begin piloting new arrangements shortly.

[Ann Coffey]

I thank the Secretary of State for that answer. As he will be aware, children going missing is a key indicator of being at risk of child sexual exploitation, and he will also know that information on children going missing from troubled families is under-reported. Will he ensure, together with his colleagues in other Departments, that data on missing and absent children is collected and shared properly, so that children from troubled families at risk of coming to harm can be identified, helped as early as possible, and not end up in the care system?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

Yes. I congratulate the hon. Lady on focusing on this across all the Departments, as I am aware that she has asked this question to a number of Departments. She is absolutely right. We do need to co-ordinate much better between Departments. As she knows, this is an historical issue for different Governments. The Department for Education chairs the data working group, which includes the Home Office, the Serious Organised Crime Agency, and the Children’s Society. I understand that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is also involved. That should help to improve the collection and publication of data. The pilot will begin shortly to see that we sort this out. She is right that we must do more to improve data as part of the missing children strategy and make sure that we get it right.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann Coffey and Iain Duncan Smith

Monday 5th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I can confirm that. Universal credit will put together all the benefits that are relevant to people going back to work. Benefits that are not relevant to the Work programme will not be included, but the rest will. That will hugely slim down the complexities, and will ensure that people understand that in every hour for which they work, they are better off in work than out of work. The migration will take place in three phases over four years, and each phase will bring in a new group of claimants of those different benefits until we have finally completed the process and there is a single universal credit.

[Ann Coffey (Stockport) (Lab)]

As the Secretary of State says, when the universal credit is introduced in October 2013, a couple with two children and working 16 hours a week will be better off in work than on benefits, so why is he introducing changes to the working tax credit this April that will make the same family £728 a year worse off than an equivalent family with no one working? That does not seem to make much sense in policy terms.

[Mr Duncan Smith]

The tax credit system, which the hon. Lady’s party left us, is administered and run by the Treasury. She said that I was bringing this measure in, but the Treasury has made that policy decision. [Interruption.] Before Opposition Members get over-excited, I should add that I of course fully support everything my colleagues at the Treasury do. I remind the hon. Lady that when universal credit is reintroduced, people who fall into the bracket in question will be £95 better off than they would be on benefits. I also remind Opposition Members that we inherited a massive debt that the last Labour Government racked up, and we have to reduce it. This measure is one of the mechanisms by which to do that.