Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and Amber Rudd

Monday 13th May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

9. What steps her Department is taking to increase financial support for vulnerable universal credit claimants compared with the legacy system.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Amber Rudd)]

Universal credit makes sure that payments reach those who need them most. Around 1 million disabled households will receive, on average, £100 more per month on universal credit than on the system it replaces. As a single system that integrates six legacy benefits, universal credit will enable 700,000 households to access approximately £2.4 billion of welfare that was previously unclaimed.

[Amber Rudd]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important matter on behalf of his constituent. As he will be aware, there has recently been a court judgment on the Universal Credit (Transitional Provisions) (SDP Gateway) Amendment Regulations 2019, and we will have to wait to consider it before I will be able to give him an update. I will come back to him on the earliest possible occasion, because I understand the concern his constituent must have on this matter.

[Bob Blackman]

Without a roof over one’s head, it is very difficult to get a job or to claim benefits. Without a job, it is almost impossible to afford rent, so what is my right hon. Friend going to do to ensure that universal credit claimants are helped and assisted not only to get a roof over their heads but to get back into work?

[Amber Rudd]

My hon. Friend asks a question about which he has done so much, and I start by paying tribute to his incredible work to help homeless people in the previous Parliament.

We recognise the concerns about homelessness, and I am determined to make sure we help homeless people to rebuild their lives. I recognise the link he so eloquently describes between jobs and homes. As part of the rough sleeping strategy, we will establish a single point of contact for homelessness at every jobcentre. I recently announced that we are increasing awareness of direct payments to private landlords under universal credit to protect vulnerable claimants’ rent. Many private landlords have told us that that will help to ensure that vulnerable people are able to stay in their homes.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and Amber Rudd

Monday 18th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Amber Rudd)]

When fully rolled out, universal credit will be £2 billion per year more generous than the support it replaces. As a single system that integrates six legacy benefits, universal credit will enable 700,000 households to access approximately £2.4 billion of welfare that previously went unclaimed. Our welfare reforms are about targeting support at those who need it most.

[Bob Blackman]

At the Budget, additional funds, which are to come into effect in the new financial year, were allocated to pay for work allowances,. Will my right hon. Friend update the House on when those work allowances will come in, how much they will be, and how much extra the working people in my constituency who receive universal credit can expect to receive each week?

[Amber Rudd]

My hon. Friend is right that an extra £1.7 billion a year will be put into work allowances to increase them by £1,000 from April 2019. That will provide a boost to the incomes of the lowest paid that will result in 2.4 million families keeping an extra £630 per year of what they earn.

Home Office Removal Targets

Debate between Bob Blackman and Amber Rudd

Thursday 26th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

As I said to the hon. Gentleman yesterday at the Select Committee hearing, as a result of the Windrush scandal, we are going back to 2002 to look at whether there have been any inappropriate deportations, and when we have that information, I will come back to the Committee.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

When I was elected in May 2010, I was shocked by the sheer number of unresolved immigration cases I had to deal with straightaway. Does my right hon. Friend recall that under the last Labour Government, the then Home Secretary had to have two separate amnesties because no one knew how many people were here?

[Amber Rudd]

I do recall that, and I do recall some of the choice phrases that previous Labour Home Secretaries used about the Home Office. Under this leadership, we will be able to change that and make real progress.

Windrush Children (Immigration Status)

Debate between Bob Blackman and Amber Rudd

Monday 16th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

I completely understand the urgent need to get this issue addressed so that people can access the NHS when they need it. I am going to make sure that we do it in such a speedy manner that we will address people’s particular needs. It should not interfere with their treatment. The fact is that hospitals are increasingly asking for evidence of residence; we will help people to get the evidence. The hon. Gentleman asked what will happen if there is none; there is always going to be evidence of people living in a country. My taskforce will make sure that we find that evidence so that we can get it to people.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

We owe a debt of gratitude to the Windrush generation for coming to this country’s aid. Will my right hon. Friend enable all MPs to access an appropriate means of communicating to the Home Office the cases that come to us, so that they are dealt with speedily and in a way that ensures that people are thanked for their service?

[Amber Rudd]

Yes; my hon. Friend makes a good point. I will ensure that everybody in the House has the details of the taskforce contact point and that we are able to communicate to everybody who has assisted this country—the people from the Windrush generation—our thanks and support.

Salisbury Incident

Debate between Bob Blackman and Amber Rudd

Thursday 8th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

I cautiously welcome the right hon. Gentleman’s comments. I do not recognise his description of our relationship with Russia over the past few years, but I will indeed write to him on the matter that he raises.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I commend my right hon. Friend for her approach. Clearly, Members across the House will be calling for investigation of unexplained deaths that may be connected to this incident. Equally, a number of individuals out there will fear for their life as a result of their activities with Russia and other such countries. Will my right hon. Friend undertake to review the security arrangements for those brave individuals, so that they can live their life in this country in the way that they have chosen to, in a free society?

[Amber Rudd]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. In this country, we want to make sure everybody is protected and everybody is free, in a free society, as he rightly says, to go about their family life and their work life. He makes a particular point about keeping a certain group of people safe. I gently say to him that that is a matter for the police and the other services, but I am confident that they know what they are doing and we will keep that in hand.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and Amber Rudd

Thursday 22nd February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

It looks as though I will have a few things to take forward with the BBC, and I look forward to coming back to set out what those conversations have revealed.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

Following the consultation that ended last September, when will my hon. Friend bring forward proposals to remove caste as a protected characteristic from the Equality Act 2010?

Online Hate Speech

Debate between Bob Blackman and Amber Rudd

Thursday 30th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

The hon. Gentleman should not rush to that conclusion. As I hope he has heard, I have been clear that we take an even-handed approach to individuals and to extremism of any sort, which is why I took the time to point out that right-wing extremism of the sort we have seen retweeted and the sort we have seen from National Action, which meant that we proscribed it, is just as hateful and just as dangerous as any sort of radical Islamic extremism.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend and the Prime Minister on their strong words and strong action in condemning the spreading of these evil words. Will my right hon. Friend look at encouraging the internet companies to make sure that Twitter and Facebook accounts, and other such accounts, are clearly identified as the mouthpiece of individuals and the organisations they represent? There is a risk that people think this is a general view of British people, and it clearly is not. We need to isolate these people for what they are.

[Amber Rudd]

My hon. Friend raises the very good point, which was also raised by my right hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Sir Mike Penning), that we must be careful not to allow all this conversation about a hated, hate-filled group to fuel interest in the group. We want to make sure it does not represent Britain, does not represent our values, and should not in any way be interpreted as doing so. I think it is an interesting point, and one we should all act on.

Unaccompanied Child Refugees

Debate between Bob Blackman and Amber Rudd

Thursday 9th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

Under the Immigration Act 2016, we were required, by a date that is fast approaching, to name a number after having consulted with local councils. We have now done that. At some point, the scheme will close, but it is not closed yet, because we still need to transfer 150 under the amendment.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend has already pointed out the disparity that exists in the dispersal of these vulnerable young children. What more can she do to ensure that they are received across the country in a variety of local authorities so that they have the opportunity to have the life that we all want for them?

[Amber Rudd]

That is a very good question. We have been working closely with local authorities. People in my Department have made presentations across the country, and more than 400 people have attended them. We are helping local authorities to step up by ensuring that they have sufficient support each year for the young people. I hope that they see this as the right thing to do when we are experiencing so many problems from the region and refugees arriving here. We are working with local authorities on a persuasion basis and urging them to participate. The sign is that more of them are stepping up.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and Amber Rudd

Monday 5th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

The right hon. Gentleman is right to raise this issue. It is a local matter, of course, but it sounds like that important balance we tread between peaceful protest and responding to the law might have been handled in a rather tricky way in his constituency. I would always urge that peaceful protest is allowed, but I wonder sometimes whether police forces strike the right balance, as in the example he has given.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

T5. My right hon. Friend’s predecessor wisely introduced a two-year visitor visa for China. What plans does she have to extend that to countries that are developing and are our key business partners, such as India?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and Amber Rudd

Thursday 12th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

What progress has my right hon. Friend made in securing new nuclear power stations and, in particular, modular power stations of a smaller scale?

[Amber Rudd]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: new nuclear is an essential part of a secure, reliable energy system. We are supporting new nuclear, but we are also particularly enthusiastic about small modular reactors, which is why my right hon. Friend the Chancellor doubled the funds for our innovation budget and we have launched our competition. We hope that it will bring forward a great array of different proposals so that we can take forward a number of them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Bob Blackman and Amber Rudd

Thursday 25th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that we have reserved our position; having brought the EU to the agreement, we will make a 40% reduction by 2030. We would still like to see it go further, but we are not pushing for that at the moment because we are looking to hold the whole of the EU together. We are working to make sure that we can use that unity to get a global deal, but that proposal is still on the table as a possibility we may yet push.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

4. What her policy is on investment in future nuclear generating capacity.