Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report
Chris Vince Excerpts(1 day, 10 hours ago)
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Liz Kendall
I am sure the right hon. Gentleman could have encouraged his party to do a compensation scheme when he was in government. The reason the ombudsman actually referred the report to Parliament was because he did not believe the last Government when they were running the Department for Work and Pensions would deal with it properly. This Government take our responsibility seriously, and that is why we have come to Parliament today to make this difficult decision.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
A Conservative Member said to me this morning that being the Secretary of State for the DWP is probably the hardest job in Government, and I think today we can really see that. I pay tribute to the WASPI women in my constituency, and in particular Gina, who emails me regularly about this issue. What reassurances can the Secretary of State give WASPI women such as Gina that we will do everything we can to support them and to ensure that issues like this do not happen again?
Liz Kendall
As I said in my statement, I understand that many women born in the 1950s face a real struggle and, on this specific decision, they may well be disappointed, but our commitment to pensioners and to the pensions triple lock will deliver an extra £30 billion into the basic state pension over this Parliament. Our investment in the NHS, about which many 1950s-born women are desperately worried, of £22 billion this year and next, shows our commitment to the issues that matter to those women. As I say, they may be disappointed and, indeed, angry about the decision, but we believe that it is the fair and right decision. However, I would be more than happy to talk to my hon. Friend in further detail so that he can pass on comments from WASPI women in his constituency.
Oral Answers to Questions
Chris Vince Excerpts(2 days, 10 hours ago)
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Sir Stephen Timms
The hon. Gentleman makes an interesting suggestion. That is not something I am considering at the moment, but as he will have heard me say earlier, we will be reviewing universal credit over the course of the next year or so. We certainly want to support young care leavers—he will know of the recent announcement that we made about changes to carer’s allowance—and we are keeping all those matters under review.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
Catherine Atkinson (Derby North) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)
Our new youth guarantee will ensure that every young person is earning or learning, tackling the scandal that we inherited of almost 1 million young people not in education, employment or training. Young people in Harlow, Derby North and across the country deserve the opportunity to work, get skills and build a better life, and that is what this Labour Government will deliver.
Chris Vince
In my constituency of Harlow, lots of fantastic organisations provide transferable skills for young people, and I thank the right hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Holden) for reminding me of the name Jason Shaves, who is an incredible champion for that kind of work. Does the Secretary of State agree that giving local areas such as Harlow the flexibility, power and funding to engage with young people in the way that best works for them will get them back into employment quicker?
Liz Kendall
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. That is why we are going to give new powers, responsibilities and funding to local areas to deliver our youth guarantee. They know their communities best. They know the voluntary organisations, schools, training providers and businesses, and the mental health and other support that many young people need. In Harlow, I know that that approach will be key to giving young people the opportunities that my hon. Friend wants and that they deserve.
Carer’s Allowance
Chris Vince Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Ed Davey (Kingston and Surbiton) (LD)
I beg to move,
That this House recognises the remarkable contributions that the UK’s 5.7 million unpaid carers make to society and the huge financial challenges many face; notes with deep concern that tens of thousands of carers are unfairly punished for overpayments of Carer’s Allowance due to the £151-a-week earnings limit; believes that carers should not be forced to face the stress, humiliation and fear caused by demands for repayments of Carer’s Allowance; condemns the previous Government for failing to address this scandal; calls on the Government to write-off existing overpayments immediately, raise the Carer’s Allowance earnings limit and introduce a taper to end the unfair cliff edge; and further calls on the Government to conduct a comprehensive review of support for carers to help people juggle care and work.
It is a great honour to open the first full Liberal Democrat Opposition day in 15 years. I assure the House that we will not waste our precious debates on the sort of political game playing to which Opposition days often fall victim. Instead, we will use them to focus on the things that really matter to ordinary people, and to tell Ministers directly about the real problems that our constituents face.
That brings me to our first motion on unpaid carers, or family carers as I prefer to say. They are people looking after relatives, friends or neighbours, and they do a remarkable and important job. Looking after someone they love can be rewarding and full of love—whether they are a parent of a disabled child, a teenager looking after a terminally ill parent or a close relative of an elderly family member—but it is far from glamorous. Caring for a family member can be relentless and exhausting.
As the House knows, I have been a carer for much of my life but, more importantly, I have also had the great privilege of meeting and hearing from thousands of carers in my constituency and across the United Kingdom. I have some understanding of the challenges that carers face every single day: the worries, the exhaustion, the lack of breaks and the financial difficulties, too. Britain’s carers deserve our support.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
I hope that the right hon. Gentleman will take this as a friendly intervention, as he knows what I am going to say. He talks about family carers and mentioned teenagers who support loved ones, which is important, but does he agree that we should recognise the role of young carers? Having worked with them, I know that they can be as young as five years old and supporting a loved one or family member.
Ed Davey
The hon. Member is absolutely right. I include young carers; indeed, I am a member of the all-party parliamentary group on young carers and young adult carers, and I invite him to join us. It is chaired by a well-established Labour Member. Young carers are very much part of our thinking, but for some, who will not be young—
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
As I have already mentioned a few times in this place, carers played a significant role in my journey to this Chamber. I worked at first hand with young carers for two and a half years until I was elected. I really welcome the use of the term “family carers” in this debate, because the charity I worked for was called Action for Family Carers. I always welcome an opportunity to speak on this issue. I recognise that young carers are not eligible for the allowances that we are talking about, but I beg this Chamber’s permission to mention the subject in this debate and at every opportunity.
In my job supporting specifically young carers, I saw every day the toll that caring takes in day-to-day life. I recognise that all carers have been given a raw deal, pushed to their limits—their breaking point—in looking after people they care about and love. Since I was elected to this place, I have heard from carers who have suffered a massive amount of anxiety due to the pressure put on them because of the overpayments scandal—people whose lives have changed, who have given up careers to become carers for their loved ones, and of course young people who do not even consider going on to higher education because of the anxiety leaving their cared ones behind would cause. This cannot go on. The situation is not only untenable but unworkable, and above all it is damaging to those who we rely on in our most vulnerable moments.
That is why I welcome wholeheartedly the Government’s announcement today that they will launch an independent review of the carer’s allowance overpayments, led by an expert in the matter. This review will cut through the mistakes made under the last Government, lay bare what we can learn and help us to avoid these mistakes in the future. There is no simple solution to improving the situation for unpaid carers, but this announcement shows a clear commitment to finding the best way to improve it for as many as possible for as long as possible. I will say it again: carers are unsung heroes, and we owe it to these unsung heroes, whose contribution is often understated and unappreciated, to do this. Carers are the backbone of our society, and this review is an important step in repaying our debt to them.