Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Cat Smith and Guy Opperman

Monday 19th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

With great respect, I think we do publish data on all aspects of the Department for Work and Pensions’ programmes, and I addressed this matter in great detail in front of the right hon. Gentleman and the Select Committee recently.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

10. What steps his Department is taking to tackle in-work poverty.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Cat Smith and Guy Opperman

Monday 6th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

The hon. Gentleman is right. I agree with him; there is life in the old dog yet, as they say. It is important that we continue to make the case that employment for the over-50s should be supported by all employers.

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

6. What assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the fall in the level of single-parent employment between 2019 and 2022.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Cat Smith and Guy Opperman

Monday 21st March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)]

While the Secretary of State was enjoying our warm Lancashire hospitality in Blackpool this weekend, just a few miles up the coast in Fleetwood, my constituent Patricia was emailing me as her MP. She is a disabled pensioner and says:

“The state pension does not keep up with rises in cost of living or inflation…Fuel costs are crippling, as I don’t move and feel the cold but we have to be careful with the heating. I need carers but their costs rise faster than the annual increase.”

What does the Secretary of State have to say to my constituent?

[Guy Opperman]

I urge the hon. Lady’s constituent to contact her local authority to see whether there is local authority access to funds. As of April, there will be £9.1 billion of energy support from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities fund. There is also pension credit and efforts are being made on a whole host of levels. I have listed three clear examples of access to cash for individuals such as her constituent.