Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Sheryll Murray

Monday 16th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Immigration (Caroline Nokes)]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that when detention is being considered every case must now go through a single detention gatekeeper, but I will undertake to look very closely at the case he raises. Our adults at risk policy, which Stephen Shaw recently reviewed, will be part of the response that the Home Secretary will bring forward before the recess.

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

T6. On Thursday, the Brexit Secretary, when discussing the number of people coming to our country post Brexit, said: “we will assert stronger security checks at the border”—[Official Report, 12 July 2018; Vol. 644, c. 1157.]What discussions and agreements have been made with the Irish Government to strengthen the common travel area in a similar way?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Sheryll Murray

Thursday 2nd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Nokes]

The equalisation of the state pension age has been well rehearsed in this Chamber; and, no, I will not use the word “class” because, to be quite frank, we are all working now.

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

Child Support Agency

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Sheryll Murray

Wednesday 11th July 2012 Westminster Hall

[Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship, Mr Weir. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Nicky Morgan) on securing this exceptionally important debate. It is on an issue that spans all constituencies. I cannot imagine being able to find an hon. Member who has not had many letters and e-mails about the Child Support Agency. The issues that parents face when claiming or being claimed against are massive; this is such a complex issue on both sides of the coin. I am sure that all hon. Members will agree with me when I say that one answer does not fit all, as every incident is so case specific; and it is near impossible to attain the best solution for everyone, especially when one law applies to all. I agreed with the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller) when she said that the child maintenance system was “broken”. I am pleased that the Government are taking action to reform the system, which is unworkable in most cases.

[Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that a frustration our constituents often face, whether they are the parent with care or the non-resident parent, is that they find it very hard to make their voices heard by the CSA, or indeed anyone?

[Sheryll Murray]

I thank my hon. Friend for highlighting that important point. I would like a formal mechanism through which parents can share experiences and suggestions with the Government and the CSA. A kind of CSA users forum or a panel made up of non-resident parents and those with care could be initiated to feed back their experience regularly to Government. That would enable the CSA to improve its performance for parents with care and non-resident parents.

A major issue seems to be the CSA’s use of the deduction of earnings system. Non-resident parents complain that the CSA does not adequately monitor changes in their income or give them sufficient notice that a deduction of earnings is taking place. Deduction of earnings comes out of the non-resident parent’s pay before they see it, and the payroll department cannot make changes if anything is incorrect. Nothing can be done if an error has been made; the person paying the money has to claim it back and prove that errors were made, which can take years.

An absent father who lives in my constituency has never missed a payment. He was following the old rules, and then the departure was granted and he went on to the new rules. The CSA now says that he has arrears of £8,000, although he has never missed a payment. There appears to be a catalogue of errors, which are being investigated, including putting the wrong child’s name on correspondence, which causes unnecessary angst. The CSA is now taking £400 out of his wages per month for one child, which is ridiculously high. Because that money comes out of a deduction of earnings, the father has no say over the amount taken out—at one point, it increased considerably with no explanation. The situation has caused untold stress to him and his family, especially when the paperwork says that he should pay £42 a month.

Outstanding child maintenance arrears increased by almost £1 billion between December and March. If net weekly profit is over £100, £5 plus a percentage of weekly income in maintenance is payable. That may help to explain the complaint that non-resident parents often try to avoid paying child maintenance. The Government recognise that, and the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission has recommended a new scheme, which is at consultation stage. It would use HMRC-sourced gross annual income for the income child maintenance calculation. That method would reduce costs to business by £0.8 billion.

A major difficulty for the CSA occurs when the non-resident parent is self-employed. Self-employed status means that it is much more challenging to obtain accurate figures. Money cannot be taken at source or from a deduction of earnings. A case in my constituency has taken approximately 14 years. The parent with care is owed a considerable amount of money. The absent parent owns a number of properties, and a charge should be taken on his properties. Allegations have been made—I cannot confirm or deny them—that the absent parent has put his accounts into his partner’s name, so it appears as if he has no assets. I obviously do not know whether that is true, but it is clear that it is not a straightforward case.

First-time Buyers

Debate between Caroline Nokes and Sheryll Murray

Wednesday 14th March 2012 Westminster Hall

[Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Steve Brine) on securing this debate today. Buying a property for the first time is a huge undertaking for anybody, but doing so has become increasingly difficult, as we have heard, in the current economic climate. This issue affects my constituents in South East Cornwall. We have heard that it also affects the constituents of many hon. Members.

First-time buyer numbers have tumbled to levels not seen since 1974, with only 200,000 recorded first-time buyers in 2011, compared with 400,000 in 2005. People trying to get on the property ladder are struggling to do so, owing to the increase in house prices. The average UK property price increased from £163,000 to just below £165,000 in 2011. This correlates with the rising price of deposits, with many people needing to save for years to cover the cost.

[Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that we should be worried about not only the falling number of first-time buyers, but the age of those first-time buyers? That is evidenced by the increase in deposits required. People have to get to a much greater age before they manage to save up the deposit.

[Sheryll Murray]

I was going to come to that point a little later. In fact, my hon. Friend is probably psychic. This is not purely an issue that affects young people; the average age of first-time buyers is 35.

The major issue is the fact that house prices are continually rising. Prices on the Nationwide index rose by 0.6% in February, and prices were 0.9% higher in February compared with a year ago. The house price to borrower’s income ratio has been gradually rising since 2007, making it harder predominantly for first-time buyers. Another issue is that the number of mortgage approvals has remained generally flat since early 2010, at below half pre-recession levels. Housing starts have increased since the recession, but still remain below pre-recession levels. The Government have recognised this issue. They have pledged to alleviate the struggle for first-time buyers, and I congratulate the Government on that.

In November, the Conservative-led Government launched a scheme to underwrite mortgages worth hundreds of millions of pounds for new homes. A central part of the new housing strategy is the £400 million get Britain building fund, which pays for the construction of up to 16,000 new homes. The fresh drive could result in a further 100,000 homes being built, so creating 200,000 jobs.

I also congratulate the Government on the two new initiatives that were launched this week, which will be crucial to aid first-time buyers. The NewBuy scheme makes it possible for first-time buyers and existing home owners to get a mortgage on a new build property with only a 5% deposit, as opposed to the 15% or 20% that we are used to. This deal means that where buyers have been typically required to save a deposit of between £30,000 and £40,000, they will now need only £10,000. The other scheme—it has been mentioned by previous speakers—is the right-to-buy scheme, which will enable council tenants to buy their homes at a discount and increases the maximum discount cap for tenants to £75,000. That will provide tenants who have the right to buy or preserved right to buy with a real incentive to buy their home, and that is no bad thing.

The schemes will make a big difference to the lives of constituents such as mine in South East Cornwall, where things are particularly hard for first-time buyers. Cornwall is a popular tourist destination, which attracts more than 5 million visitors each year. That has artificially raised house prices in my constituency, as it has become attractive to affluent people from all over the country buying homes or second homes. The average house price in Cornwall is £216,000, according to the Land Registry for England and Wales. That does not seem too high, but compared with the annual average wage in my constituency, it is very expensive. Average annual earnings in Cornwall are just under £21,000, well below the averages for the south-west and for Britain. That makes it hard for first-time buyers to come up with a deposit for a house or flat, as they are competing with wealthier holidaymakers who can afford properties in South East Cornwall. That is where the NewBuy scheme will have a positive impact.

The story was different 20 years ago. When I moved to my village from Stoke-on-Trent, I could buy a property that needed renovating. Although even then there was a massive difference in property prices, I had the opportunity to buy my own home. Sadly, young people in South East Cornwall do not have that option, as the older properties have already been sold and renovated. The situation is different from when I purchased a property in the 1980s.

As a Government, we are doing what we can to help first-time buyers. I am confident that the figures will become more encouraging after the Government’s introduction of these fantastic incentives.