Government Record on Education, Employment and Welfare
Baroness Lister of Burtersett Excerpts(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab)
My Lords, I welcome this opportunity to take stock of what I am sure the Minister will demonstrate is a pretty positive record. I will focus on social security—called “welfare” in the Motion—but first I shall mention the education reforms that have contributed to the child poverty strategy by reducing the costs of education: action on school uniforms, free breakfasts and free school meals. On the last, I will quote Davina, a member of the Child Poverty Action Group’s youth panel, on why they matter so much:
“It’s not just about food, it’s about dignity, equality and belonging. Hunger makes you tired, embarrassed and left out. A hot meal gives you the energy to focus and the confidence to feel like you belong in the room”.
The Government can take pride in a number of measures on social security, including the modest real increase in the real value of universal credit, the fair repayment rate that reduces the overall level of UC deductions and, most significantly, the abolition of what the noble Lord, Lord Freud, described as the “vicious” two-child limit. A self-described mother in a hard-working family of five writes that,
“it feels like a heavy weight has been lifted off our shoulders; we can finally breathe”,
after the “devastating financial impact” of the limit.
Of course I was not happy about the cuts, but at least the worst of them was averted by the establishment of the Timms PIP review, which was co-produced with disabled people. This is such a positive initiative, as has been the ongoing engagement of the child poverty strategy with parents and children experiencing poverty. I very much hope the Government will build on such initiatives in their policy-making.
The Timms review’s excellent interim report pulls no punches in its critique, including of the dehumanising treatment of those claiming PIP, which raises wider questions about the need for a culture of dignity and respect in the social security system. The report also questions the false narrative of a ballooning overall working-age benefits budget. One consequence of cuts by the Conservative-led Governments has been a significant reduction in the real value of benefits, according to the child poverty strategy documents.
The strategy makes it clear that social security plays a vital role in reducing child poverty, critical to the goals both of security and opportunity, a point also emphasised by charities in the field and by academic and think-tank analysis. Far from restricting opportunity, as the noble Baroness, Lady Evans, said, the child poverty strategy is increasing opportunity for children with experience of poverty. So, wearing my Olivia Twist hat, I hope that serious thought will be given to further action, in particular on the benefit cap, the frozen local housing allowance and the adequacy of UC in meeting need.
The End Child Poverty coalition speaks for many charities when it says that we
“must shift from viewing social security as a sign of failure towards viewing it as an essential investment in children and families”.
According to research by Turn2us, a more positive political narrative could increase public trust in the social security system. I urge the Government not to listen to the siren voices of those baying for cuts but instead to defend social security robustly as, to quote Minister Johnson,
“the bedrock of our welfare state”.—[Official Report, Commons, 30/6/26; col. 875.]
Child Trust Fund Accounts
Baroness Lister of Burtersett Excerpts(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)
As of 5 April 2024, some 2.5 million child trust funds accounts and 670,000 mature child trust fund accounts had not been claimed. The Government recognise the importance of ensuring that we marry up young people with those accounts. HMRC is working very closely with opinion-formers and stakeholders to try to ensure that this group is reached. This includes, for example, working closely with UCAS, joining with younger influencers who discuss personal finances online, and using traditional media and HMRC’s own social media channels to target young people to ensure that they know the trust funds exist.
Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab)
My Lords, I very much support my noble friend in his efforts, but as there do not seem to be any more questions on that subject, I will broaden it out to another of the Treasury’s responsibilities for children. I realise that my noble friend may not be able to answer this now, but is there any evidence of the impact of the high-income charge, introduced by the previous Government, on the take-up of child benefit? Child benefit is a crucial source of secure income for parents.
Lord Wilson of Sedgefield (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness for that question, and she is absolutely right: it is not an area I know very much about. I will get the department to write to her with the answer she requires.