Neurodiversity in the Workplace

Chris Vince Excerpts

Wednesday 17th December 2025 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Hall]

I thank the hon. Member for his intervention; I absolutely agree. I echo his comments about the fantastic work that is being done in Northern Ireland on inclusion, and I am sure that the Minister will address the points he made in her closing remarks.

It is also important to say this clearly: not all neurodivergent people have a diagnosis, and many are diagnosed far later in life. In some parts of the country, people wait years for assessment. During that time, they are still expected to work, cope and perform, often without any understanding of why things feel harder than they should. We cannot design workplace support around a system that is already overstretched and inconsistent. Support has to be based on need and not on paperwork.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg, and I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate and for her very personal testimony. Does she agree with me and PACT for Autism, which is based in my constituency, that we should not only support people in work, but support people into work? The application process for some roles is often so complicated that people who are neurodiverse are put off even applying for them, which means that they cannot realise their potential.

[Sarah Hall]

I could not agree more. My hon. Friend makes a very good point.

Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found that one in five neurodivergent workers have experienced harassment or discrimination at work because of their neurodivergence.

National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill

Chris Vince Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 17th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Dan Tomlinson)]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for bringing the Front Benchers on both sides to heel at just the right time, before I make the closing remarks. It is a pleasure to close this Second Reading debate, and I thank all Members on both sides of the House for their contributions. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Jim Dickson) for his contribution and his brief foray—and it was brief—into broader points around the Budget, which I did appreciate. I will try to minimise doing so in my remarks.

The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for North Bedfordshire (Richard Fuller), raised a few points. While he is whispering over there, I will confirm to him that the costing provided by the OBR accounts for the dynamic effects of this policy. The costing itself has been certified by the OBR. The reason why the change does not come in for a number of years is because it will give businesses time to plan, which we think is an important thing to do when we are making significant changes to the pension system.

This is an important Bill, if small. This is an important debate to have, although it has felt somewhat rushed given that it has come after the many final-week statements and urgent questions today. But that has given me a bit more time to prepare some remarks, which I have hastily cut down from the 30 minutes I was planning; we will see whether we can make faster progress than that for the sake of all concerned.

In my extra time this afternoon, I thought I would attempt to shoehorn a Christmas theme into my closing remarks, given that this will be the last time the House divides before Christmas. Very briefly, I present “The Twelve Numbers of Christmas: the Salary Sacrifice Edition”. I start with 12 words from Baron Hammond of Runnymede on how some employees are, in his words,

“able to sacrifice salary…and pay much lower tax….That is unfair”.—[Official Report, 23 November 2016; Vol. 617, c. 907.]

The Whips can count, and I can see that they have counted that as 12 words—very good. It is clear that even 10 years ago the Conservative party was aware of issues with salary sacrifice schemes. They knew that we must ensure that significant tax reliefs totalling £75 billion a year are properly targeted. That is why we are capping pension salary sacrifice contributions at £2,000.

Let us be clear: we are not removing pension tax relief, just the ability for unlimited relief via salary sacrifice, which many people cannot access in any case. That brings me to my No. 11. Those earning £11, £12 or £13 an hour at the national minimum wage or the national living wage cannot make use of salary sacrifice schemes because if they sacrificed their salary, they would be paid less than the minimum. It is the richest who benefit the most from these schemes.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

rose—

[Dan Tomlinson]

I happily give way to my hon. Friend.

[Chris Vince]

It’s Christmas! I have been here the whole time, by the way, Madam Deputy Speaker.

The Minister talks about the impact on different earners. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury mentioned that only one in five self-employed people actually gets a pension, and there was another statistic about low earners. Can the Minister reflect on that? We need to get more people signing up for a pension.

[Dan Tomlinson]

Some 4.4 million of the self-employed are also not able to save into salary sacrifice schemes; it is right that we make the scheme fairer for all.

Let me continue to run through my numbers. Some 10 million people have signed up to a pension since auto-enrolment, which has limited the need for salary sacrifice. There are more than 900 tax reliefs; this is one of a number that we are reducing to raise revenue fairly at this Budget. Without intervention, salary sacrifice would have cost £8 billion a year by the end of the decade. Instead, we will now raise £7 billion from this change over the course of the scorecard.

The change will affect those on higher earnings more: 60% of the contributions come from the top fifth of employees and just 5% of those earning less than £30,000 will be affected. We will give businesses time to plan—this is not coming in for a bit less than four calendar years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Vince Excerpts

Monday 8th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dame Diana Johnson]

The hon. Lady knows that there are already resources going into schools to provide mental health support to children and young people early on. There is also additional money going in through the Government’s investment into the NHS, which will include mental health services.

I am pleased that the hon. Lady highlighted the range of options available to people with mental health conditions, because we know that those people are very diverse and that there is no one thing that will support them into work and keep them in work. As she said, we have work coaches, Pathways to Work advisers, Connect to Work, and employment advisers in NHS talking therapies. There is a whole range of options to ensure that we get people with mental health conditions into work and keep them there.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

What conversations has the Department had with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that the 10-year plan tackles the root causes of mental ill health? My constituents in Harlow tell me that they get mental health support only when they are really facing crisis, and by the time they have got to that crisis point, they have already given up work and training.

[Dame Diana Johnson]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. We know that 6,700 workers in the NHS are already providing that additional mental health support and, as I have said, work is going on in schools as well, recognising that early intervention is so important. I have also had meetings with the DHSC, particularly to look at how the two Departments can work together to ensure that we are providing wraparound care to people in work. This is happening alongside the Charlie Mayfield review “Keep Britain Working”, because we know that people may develop mental health conditions during the course of their life in employment, and we want to ensure that they stay in employment with the right support wrapped around them.

Welfare Spending

Chris Vince Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to speak in the debate, and I pay particular tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Dr Sandher) —who has just left the Chamber—for speaking without notes, which I think is commendable.

You will be aware, Madam Deputy Speaker, that my mind is currently dominated by thoughts about babies. It is incredible that human babies are so reliant on their parents and guardians to feed them, clothe them, bath them and keep them warm. That led me to consider how, given its humble beginnings, the human race has been so successful, creating societies, creating communities and—if I may give a local plug—creating the fibre-optic cable in Harlow. Then I realised that it was because of exactly these vulnerabilities that human beings formed societies and communities. It is not only human nature for us to support one another; it is essential. I believe it was Mahatma Gandhi who said that a society should be judged on how it treats its most vulnerable.

The original motion claims that it is a moral duty to stop benefits for certain people. I must be honest and say that I do not like that wording, although I recognise the need for welfare reform. I feel that there needs to be a great deal more meat on the bones: what do the Opposition mean by “lower-level” mental health issues? The motion also refers to the Government’s “failure” to get people on benefits back into work. I mean, come on! Give us a chance. Let me gently point out that inactivity increased on the Conservatives’ watch, and the United Kingdom was the only G7 country whose employment rate was still lower than it had been before the pandemic.

I support the Government’s aim to get people back into work, and I welcome the inactivity trailblazer scheme, whose purpose is to design local solutions to tackle this issue. I will talk later about having been a teacher, because I do that in every speech, but having worked for a homelessness charity, I know that the reasons for which people are out of work for long periods are complex and often vary, so those local solutions are very important.

[Sir Ashley Fox]

On that point, will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Chris Vince]

I am going to make some progress, but I must get to my “teacher” point. I may have mentioned a few times in the House that I used to be a teacher. When I visit Harlow’s schools and colleges, I am blown away by our talented young people. I want the best for them: high-quality jobs, and an ambition that does not stop at a glass ceiling and a lifetime on benefits.

I genuinely believe that getting people into meaningful employment can and will help some of the mental health issues that people suffer from. I have seen that in my work for a homelessness charity. I therefore welcome getting employment advisers into GP surgeries and mental health institutions.

One way to get people back into work is by getting NHS waiting lists down. I know a number of self-employed people in Harlow who are really struggling because of the huge impact that long waiting lists have on them getting back to work. This Government are funding our NHS not just for now, but for the future.

I gently add that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits has actually gone down over the last year under this Government, which we should welcome. I also welcome the review into PIP, and I am glad that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability is leading the charge on that important piece of work.

[Fred Thomas (Plymouth Moor View) (Lab)]

We have heard a lot of nonsense from the Conservatives; we have had a nursery rhyme and the claim from the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Sarah Bool) that the first instance of welfare in this country was the monasteries under Henry VIII. But to take that example, when Thomas Cromwell came in to advise King Henry VIII, he realised that they were not working and needed reform. It was extremely difficult. That Government passed two very difficult Acts of Parliament to dissolve those monasteries and to get the wealth back out to people. Does my hon. Friend agree that the difficult act of Government is actually to reform these things, rather than just to complain about them retrospectively?

[Chris Vince]

I thank my hon. and gallant Friend for his intervention. I cannot pretend to be a huge historian—I do not know a great deal about the selling of the monasteries—but I take his point about the difficult decisions that Governments need to make, and that reform is really important. There are so many things that have been left for us to look at in terms of reform. As a former teacher—I always mention it—special educational needs and disabilities reform is obviously a huge one that needs to be on the agenda.

As I was saying, I welcome the review into PIP being led by my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham. After I left teaching, I worked for a homeless charity and had to help clients with PIP forms; they are cumbersome. I would encourage people from my constituency to participate in that review, either through the formal process or by writing to me. I will make sure that their feedback gets to my right hon. Friend.

The one thing in the Conservative motion that I would agree with is the need for more face-to-face assessments. It is right to say that the number of assessments went down because of covid—of course it did—but it is important that we get back to those face-to-face PIP assessments.

Finally, one of my top priorities in this place is to ensure that all young people in Harlow have the opportunity and aspiration to succeed, not just for the good of the community and our society, but for themselves.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Vince Excerpts

Monday 27th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Pat McFadden]

I have to remind the hon. Member that when his party was in government, it supported the acceleration in the rise of the basic state pension age, and that has given rise to some of the questions he raises. You would not expect me to comment on ongoing litigation, Mr Speaker, and I will not, but I can assure the hon. Member and the House that we will take all relevant factors into account when considering the process for the future.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Previous to my election to this place, I worked for a homeless charity in Harlow called Streets2Homes. One of its cases involved a man who was homeless due to delays in getting his state pension. How is the Department ensuring that delays like that are not commonplace?

[Pat McFadden]

We hope that those entitled to the basic state pension receive a seamless and fast service. This is a pension that people contribute to throughout their life, and when they reach state pension age, we of course hope that they get it as soon as possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Vince Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

I fundamentally disagree with the hon. Gentleman’s premise. Economic inactivity is down by 400,000 because we are moving more people from being out of work and not looking for work to starting to have to look for work. Employment is up by 725,000. We have created 380,000 jobs. I know there is more we need to do. We are working very closely with employers. We are overhauling what we are doing. One of the things that employers say to us is, “We do not want to tell our story to thousands of different job centres.” We are putting in a single account manager and we are overhauling our support for employers. I would be happy to meet him and employers in his constituency to see what more we can do to support them, because we want to get Britain working and earning again.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

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

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)]

Let me start by congratulating all the pupils who have received their exam results over the last few weeks. Having good qualifications is essential in today’s economy, and it is brilliant to see so many young people doing so well. However, the number of young people not in education, employment or training is one of the biggest challenges facing the country, and young people are much more likely to be NEETs if they lack basic skills. That is why I am so proud of the action that the Government are taking to increase the number of youth apprenticeships, overhaul foundation apprenticeships and, above all, introduce a youth guarantee so that every young person is earning or learning.

[Chris Vince]

I hope you had a lovely recess, Mr Speaker.

Harlow is full of fantastic schools, and I see the potential of young people there every single day, but that potential is often overlooked because of economic circumstances. Will the Secretary of State explain how the new crisis and resilience fund will support the poorest children in Harlow?

[Liz Kendall]

In the spending review we announced this first ever multi-year settlement for local support, replacing the household support fund. The crisis and resilience fund will provide £1 billion every single year, and will give families emergency help if, for example, their white goods break down or they need food urgently. However, we want to start shifting it increasingly towards tackling the root causes of poverty, helping people to become more financially resilient through the provision of debt advice. We recently held a meeting with more than 600 stakeholders to discuss how we could achieve that shift, because we want to prevent people from falling into poverty and to give them the tools that they need to emerge from poverty themselves.

Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill

Chris Vince Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 1st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Badenoch]

I am not surprised that the hon. Gentleman is baffled, because he is clearly not listening to what I am saying. We had three conditions. We have been very, very clear that we want to see the welfare budget come down. I will make some progress.

Even with the changes in this Bill, welfare spending will still be higher by billions at the end of this Parliament. Slowing down an increase is not a cut: we need to get this under control.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the right hon. Lady give way?

[Mrs Badenoch]

I will make some progress.

Despite the obvious flaws in the Bill, we offered to support benefit changes in the national interest. The hon. Member for Gateshead Central and Whickham (Mark Ferguson) asked a question, and I will answer it very clearly for those who have not been paying attention. We agreed to support the Government if they could make three simple commitments; they were not unachievable or unreasonable commitments. First, they had to cut the overall welfare bill, because we are spending far too much already. Secondly, they had to get more people into work. Thirdly, they had to stand by the Chancellor’s own commitment that, with taxes at a record level because of her choices, she would not come back for more tax rises.

What did we get from the Government? A sneery response indicating that they could manage on their own. How’s that going? What happened instead was that the number of MPs opposed to the Bill grew ever larger, until the inevitable U-turn finally came, announced by a press release dispatched after midnight and a panicked letter setting out that the reforms had been gutted. The Bill is now more incoherent than it was at the beginning.

Draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities etc.) (Amendment) Order 2025

Chris Vince Excerpts

Wednesday 25th June 2025 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Torsten Bell)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities etc.) (Amendment) Order 2025.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart.

Consumers have waited too long for the change before us. More than 10 million people now use buy now, pay later products. When used responsibly, such products can help people manage their finances. Many especially value the fact that the products are interest-free, often making them an affordable alternative to credit cards and personal loans. Yet, unlike those traditional forms of credit, buy now, pay later products sit outside the UK’s consumer credit regulatory framework. That is because buy now, pay later products fall under an exemption originally designed to help small businesses offer instalment plans to their customers. In recent years, however, innovative fintechs have used the exemption to roll out buy now, pay later products offering to customers, usually at an online checkout, new ways to pay via the likes of Klarna, PayPal and Clearpay.

Small firms do not need authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority, nor are buy now, pay later agreements required to adhere to the Consumer Credit Act. That approach makes sense for small businesses offering simple instalment plans for goods and services, but it is not right for the large-scale consumer credit lenders now in this market.

Back in February 2021, under the previous Government, the Woolard review set out the risks of that unregulated market. First, there are no rules on what information buy now, pay later firms must give their customers. Too many people are left unclear about what they owe, and some do not even realise that they have taken out credit. Secondly, the firms are not required to check whether people can afford these products. Finally, that lack of checks brings real danger.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does the Minister agree that this draft legislation is particularly important to protect those facing hardship? Potentially, people—certainly residents in my constituency—may feel the need to turn to buy now, pay later products, but given that they are not regulated, that could lead them into further debt.

[Torsten Bell]

My hon. Friend makes an important point that is generally relevant to financial services regulation: we want the availability of credit for people, but we want it done safely. That is exactly what the changes are about. As I was saying, debt can quickly mount up when people take out several buy now, pay later products at once, with no one checking what they already owe.

The previous Government rightly pledged to bring the products into regulation, although sadly did not get to the point of delivering on that promise. I am proud that, in May, this Government laid this draft order to bring unregulated buy now, pay later products offered by third-party lenders into regulation under the Financial Conduct Authority. That will bring proper oversight of such firms and strong protection for consumers.

In future, buy now, pay later firms will have to carry out robust affordability checks, ensuring that consumers are protected from taking on debt that they cannot afford. Firms will also be required to give consumers clear information. That will help people to decide whether buy now, pay later is right for them, and to know that support is available if they face financial difficulty. Buy now, pay later users will gain strong rights under the Consumer Credit Act, including section 75 protection. That will make it easier for consumers to get a refund if something goes wrong with a purchase. Crucially, consumers will have the right to take their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. That will guarantee them access to a fair, independent resolution if problems arise. Those are the rights and protections that users of other regulated credit products already enjoy. It is only right that users of buy now, pay later products receive them, too.

There is also something new: the Financial Conduct Authority will be able to develop a modernised information disclosure regime for buy now, pay later products, set by FCA rules, not by the Consumer Credit Act. We have recognised, in line with feedback, including from consumer groups, that the existing provisions of the Consumer Credit Act on information requirements do not suit interest-free, short-term buy now, pay later products. However, this is not special treatment for these products. On the same day as we laid the draft order that we are debating today, we launched a consultation to reform the Consumer Credit Act more widely.

Lastly, let me stress that a new regulatory regime is not just a win for consumers. Buy now, pay later firms will benefit as well. For years, they have faced regulatory uncertainty. This order ends that uncertainty, and we have ensured that the order delivers a smooth transition to regulation for them. They will be able to continue lending under a temporary permissions regime while the FCA authorisation is under review. That guarantees business as usual, for them and for customers, throughout the transition.

Twelve months after this order is made, the new regulatory regime for these products will come into force. In that time, the FCA will consult on and finalise the rules that will govern buy now, pay later lending. We must not delay giving millions of consumers the vital protection that they deserve.

I thank the Committee for its attention to this issue and would welcome any questions from the shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury or any other Members.

Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Vince Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

I do not recognise the attitude that the hon. Member describes—quite frankly, we feel precisely the opposite. This vital benefit makes a crucial contribution towards the extra costs of living with a disability. That is why we want to reform it to protect it for generations to come, because we do not think that it is sustainable to have a doubling of the number of people on PIP over this decade from 2 million to more than 4.3 million. It is also why we are putting in extra employment support, why we want to support employers to do more to recruit and retain disabled people, and why we want to reform Access to Work—a vital scheme that helps people—because disabled people should have equal rights, chances and choices to work, and that is what we seek to deliver.

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

This morning, I had the pleasure of visiting PACT for Autism, a brilliant local charity in Harlow. It raised concerns about the accessibility of the PIP application process for those with autism. As the Department looks to reform the process, could that be considered?

[Liz Kendall]

I absolutely will consider that. In fact, I ask my hon. Friend and his constituents to feed into the work that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability is doing. We have to ensure that it is as easy and effective as possible to access that vital benefit. It is crucial for people with autism, and we want to make it work properly.

Winter Fuel Payment

Chris Vince Excerpts

Monday 9th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the Minister for his statement, which pensioners in Harlow will welcome. The fastest growth in the G7, three trade deals and four interest rate cuts—is that the context in which the Minister feels we are able to provide more pensioners in Harlow with the winter fuel allowance?

[Torsten Bell]

My hon. Friend always does a good job of not only representing Harlow, but remembering the economic progress that is being made. If anyone did not hear what he just said, he talked about rising growth, rising wages, interest rates falling and a country back on the path to success.