Oral Answers to Questions

Damian Hinds Excerpts

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Ms Nusrat Ghani (Wealden) (Con)]

7. What recent assessment he has made of trends in youth unemployment.

[The Minister for Employment (Damian Hinds)]

Unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds is 523,000—down 60,000 on the year and down 416,000 since 2010.

[Ms Ghani]

I welcome that news from the Minister. I am a strong campaigner for apprenticeships, including in my constituency, where we have just 70 young unemployed people. Does the Minister agree that making apprenticeships far more available helps young people into jobs, not only in Wealden but throughout the country?

[Damian Hinds]

My hon. Friend has indeed been a great campaigner and a great champion for apprenticeships. Apprenticeships—including the 620 starts in Wealden in 2016-17—are one of the key policies that have contributed to our successful labour market, in which employment now stands at 75%.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

What is the trend in unemployment for young people with learning difficulties?

[Damian Hinds]

We absolutely accept that of course young people with learning difficulties need additional assistance and additional understanding of conditions and so on, which is why we have very much focused on providing that in jobcentres to make sure that they get the support they deserve.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

8. Whether his Department has set a target for the time taken for a personal independence payment claim to be processed from application to decision.

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[Stephen Pound (Ealing North) (Lab)]

9. What estimate his Department has made of the number of sanctions that will be applied each month as universal credit is rolled out.

[The Minister for Employment (Damian Hinds)]

The Department does not forecast numbers of sanctions that will be applied. We do not want sanctions to be incurred, but they do play an important part in reasonable conditionality.

[Mr Speaker]

I think the hon. Gentleman is going to the west end to perform on the stage. He would feel so fulfilled. In fact, I think that he has already done so—perhaps just now.

[Damian Hinds]

I gently remind the hon. Gentleman that when I say that sanctions are considered to be a part of reasonable conditionality, it was also the approach that was taken up fully by the previous Labour Government. With regard to universal credit over Christmas, we have in place—as we do every year—robust processes to make sure that claims get paid. We can bring claims forward to make sure that things go smoothly, as we always seek to do before Christmas.

[Mr Speaker]

There is a matter of some dispute here between the Chair and the Table. I think that the hon. Gentleman is a representative of a petrocurrency, but Mycroft in front of me is not wholly convinced, so the matter remains as yet undetermined.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I refer the Minister to the question I raised with the Leader of the House on Thursday. Will the Minister provide an assurance that when the Department makes mistakes in the administration of universal credit, claimants will be fully compensated in claims backdated to the point where they will be no worse off?

[Damian Hinds]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s question. I have written to him today on this specific case. I do not know whether the response has yet come to hand following his question on Thursday, but I am happy to meet him and discuss it in detail. I understand that there was an issue about some of the information at the time the claim was made, and that there has been some backdating. We will talk about the matter later.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

10. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the number of jobs created since 2010.

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[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

14. What assessment he has made of the level of preparedness in Torbay for the roll-out of universal credit.

[The Minister for Employment (Damian Hinds)]

We carry out a range of implementation activities well in advance of activation to ensure that sites are well prepared, and we have successfully rolled out to 235 jobcentres to date.

[Kevin Foster]

I thank the Minister for his answer. Roll-out of full service universal credit in Torbay is due to happen in September 2018. It is vital that claimants fully understand the system and their options. Will the Minister therefore confirm what work his Department is doing with Torbay’s local advice services to ensure that claimants can easily get such support if needed?

[Damian Hinds]

Yes, we are ensuring that stakeholders, including the key advice services, have a proper overview of universal credit, and we work closely with the citizens advice bureau and others. A dedicated employer and partnership team engages directly with local authorities, landlords and others to ensure there is a joined-up approach to supporting claimants.

[Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab)]

rose—

[Stephen Timms]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. There will be problems in Torbay and elsewhere if the universal credit calculation is wrong. The Minister told me in a written answer that there is no specific initiative called Late, Missing and Incorrect, but it turns out that there is, run jointly by his Department and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. Will he confirm that if real-time PAYE—pay-as-you-earn—information is late, missing or incorrect, then the universal credit calculation will be wrong?

[Damian Hinds]

We all admire the right hon. Gentleman for his deftness in getting from Torbay to that point. He and I have had quite an extended correspondence in parliamentary questions on the subject of real-time information in its various aspects. Of course we want to continue to make sure that every aspect of universal credit is working entirely as it should, and he has my commitment that we will do so.

[Mr Speaker]

The right hon. Gentleman will experience a long journey from East Ham to Torbay. We empathise with him on his long journey.

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[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T4. What steps has the Department to taken to help older people who are looking, perhaps after redundancy or caring responsibilities, to get back into work?

[The Minister for Employment (Damian Hinds)]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. There are more working people in older age groups now than there ever have been, but much more needs to be done, which is why we published our “Fuller Working Lives” strategy. Of course, many employers are waking up to the possibilities in jobcentres, and we are also making sure that we have more older worker champions to represent that group fully.

[Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)]

Reports suggest that the Foreign Secretary, the Environment Secretary and others used this morning’s Cabinet meeting to start the campaign to scrap the working time directive after Brexit. That directive protects us when it comes to hours worked and paid holidays, as well as giving extra protection to night shift workers. Can the Secretary of State confirm what representations he has made at Cabinet to ensure that his Brexiteer colleagues are not successful at ripping up our workers’ rights?

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[Alex Burghart (Brentwood and Ongar) (Con)]

On Friday, I visited my local jobcentre and saw the genuine enthusiasm that work coaches have for the new universal credit system. Will my hon. Friend confirm that additional help is available for users who are not too tech savvy?

[Damian Hinds]

Yes, indeed. My hon. Friend is quite right about the enthusiasm of jobcentre staff for universal credit, because it enables them to do more of what they want to do, which is to help people to get on and get into work. I can confirm to him that, yes, computers are available in jobcentres, and assistance is available when needed.

[Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) (Lab)]

With the uncertainty of universal credit payments following the roll-out in Swansea last week, my local paper, the South Wales Evening Post, has co-ordinated the collection of food and warm clothes to help those in need. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating the South Wales Evening Post on doing what the Government are failing to do, and making sure everyone has a good Christmas?

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[Andrew Bowie (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (Con)]

For jobseekers in my constituency of West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, it is overwhelmingly the “can do” attitude of professionals and the dedication of the work coaches, whom they value, that will help them to find work. Especially at this time of year, we as a House should definitely pay tribute to them. May I ask my hon. Friend how the new work coaches will boost the chances of jobseekers in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, as well as those elsewhere, to find work?

[Damian Hinds]

I can confirm that we have been recruiting work coaches in every nation and region of the UK. We are seeking to do more to provide support with universal credit, and to ensure that what in-work support is needed is available.

[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)]

Two constituents came to my surgery on Friday, concerned that the switch of support for mortgage interest payments will force them into the private rented sector and on to housing benefit, and will therefore cost the taxpayer more money. Will the Government review that policy? Is it not more evidence of Tory austerity hitting the poorest the hardest?