Universal Credit: Managed Migration

Chris Stephens Excerpts
Tuesday 8th January 2019

(5 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Alok Sharma Portrait Alok Sharma
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There will be that extra money. As I have said, this is about making sure that we target funds at those who need it most. That is why we introduced changes in work allowances in the Budget, which will make a difference to people with children and, of course, those with disabilities as well.

Chris Stephens Portrait Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)
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Will the pilot just move 10,000 people on to the existing system, or will there be meaningful changes before it begins, as requested by the Select Committee and by stakeholders? Will the Minister look at the position of individuals who turn down jobs involving zero-hours contracts, who are liable to be sanctioned under universal credit but would not be sanctioned under legacy benefits?

Alok Sharma Portrait Alok Sharma
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I am always happy to have a detailed discussion with the hon. Gentleman on any issues, but let me commend to him our response to the Social Security Advisory Committee’s recommendations. As he will see, we have taken on the vast majority of those recommendations—and, of course, we have committed ourselves to working with stakeholders, which we are already doing.