Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann McKechin and Mike Penning

Monday 23rd June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mike Penning]

Clearly Her Majesty’s Opposition have a short memory as to what happened when they were in government. This problem started under Labour, Atos was in place under Labour—[Interruption.] Opposition Front Benchers are saying “No, not us”; then they should release the documentation that proves what the backlog was before the last election.

[Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

2. What steps he is taking to improve the claims and decision-making process for personal independence payments.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Mike Penning)]

Yet again I am committed to improving our performance and that of our contract providers. I want to make sure the right decisions are made as soon as possible. With that in mind, I have looked, particularly working with Macmillan, at how we can reduce waiting times for terminally ill people waiting for PIP. That stood at 28 days when I first met the Work and Pensions Committee, and I said that was unacceptable. It is inside 10 days now, and I want it to become lower.

[Ann McKechin]

As the Minister of State is aware, by his own Department’s statistics it will take 42 years to clear the current backlog. In the meantime people are running out money, and they are becoming more stressed and more ill as a result of his Department’s failure to get a grip on a payment which his Government introduced. When will the backlogs be reduced to a decent level, as people have a right to entitlements in this country?

[Mike Penning]

It is really important that we get the decisions right and that the right people get those payments. I said before the Select Committee that I promise to do that within my own Department’s administration, and we are addressing that. There was a real performance issue as to how many people were coming through the schemes. I am addressing that now with the providers, and it will improve, and not in the length of time the hon. Lady mentions, which is scaremongering.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann McKechin and Mike Penning

Wednesday 5th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

1. What her policy is on tackling youth unemployment in Northern Ireland.

[The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mike Penning)]

Specific measures to tackle youth unemployment in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. The Government’s efforts to reduce the largest structural deficit in our peacetime history and set the country back on the path of sustainable economic recovery will attract growth and help young people throughout the United Kingdom.

[Ann McKechin]

Given that almost one in five young people in Northern Ireland are currently unemployed, is it not time for the Minister to consider a national insurance break for small employers, which are predominant in the private economy in Northern Ireland, to allow them to take on young people and get them back to work?

[Mike Penning]

There will be a statement, believe it or not, later in the day in which the Chancellor sets out our economic measures—the autumn statement. I know that the hon. Lady speaks in good faith and cares about this problem, but it is not something that suddenly happened when the coalition Government came into power, or when the Northern Ireland Executive came into power; youth unemployment started to rise quite quickly in 2004 when her Government were in power, and that was in a time of boom before it went bust under the last Administration.