Oral Answers to Questions

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Monday 8th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I heard that interesting debate between Professor Dowler and the head of the Oxford food bank, who talked about the wider ramifications of issues concerning access to food and food distribution, which is a matter for supermarkets. Of course, we want people to earn more. The key thing after the recession was to get people into work. We have got 2 million people back into work as a starting point, and we know that for every year in work a person’s salary rises on average by about 4%. Is there more to do? Yes, of course there is. We are looking carefully at that report and we will respond appropriately. I promise the hon. Gentleman that I take the report very seriously.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

5. What the average time taken is for a decision on an award of personal independence payment.

[The Minister for Disabled People (Mr Mark Harper)]

The delays that some people applying for PIP have experienced are unacceptable, as I have said a number of times in the House. Getting those delays down is my No. 1 priority. The hon. Lady will be aware of the Secretary of State’s very clear commitment, which the Department is working very hard to achieve.

[Diana Johnson]

My constituent Simon Brown waited seven months for his PIP application to be processed. That delay meant that he was unable to apply for other help—such as additional housing benefit—that a PIP award allows. Given that eventual backdated payments do not compensate for the hardship and misery that people experience while waiting for months, and given that benefit delays are one of the main reasons that people are accessing food banks and going to loan sharks, can the Minister say what specifically he is doing to make sure that other people do not suffer in the same way as my constituent?

[Mr Harper]

Yes, I can. Overall, I accept there has been a problem with PIP and I have set that out in the House on a number of occasions. As far as benefits across the Department are concerned, the Department now pays benefits more quickly than when we came to office, so that has improved. Since the start of the year the assessment providers have trebled the number of health professionals they employ. Since April we have doubled the number of monthly assessments and tripled the number of decisions made, and by the beginning of next year we will have almost quadrupled the number of health professionals. That is making a real difference to making decisions on a timely basis for the hon. Lady’s constituents and mine.

Oral Answers to Questions

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Monday 3rd November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

Apart from the rhetoric, the reality is that the hon. Gentleman is wrong. It was his Government who started the process in the first place. I remind him that when they introduced the local housing allowance, they refused to allow anybody who accepted that benefit to live in a house that had extra bedrooms, because that would be unfair on those who were in that accommodation. We have restored that fairness. That is the right thing to do, and it saves £500 million a year.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

11. What forecast he has made of the likely level of child poverty in (a) 2015 and (b) 2020.

[The Minister for Pensions (Steve Webb)]

Relative child poverty is now at its lowest level since the mid-1980s, and there are now 300,000 fewer children in relative poverty than in 2010. However, poverty projections are based on a number of factors that cannot be reliably predicted, including the median income.

[Diana Johnson]

According to the most recent figures published under this Government, 53% of children in the Orchard Park and Greenwood ward in my constituency are living in poverty, compared with 11% in the neighbouring constituency of Haltemprice and Howden. What is the Minister going to do to ensure that we do not end up with a permanently divided society?

[Steve Webb]

The fall in unemployment has happened across the country, and the risk that a child will be living in poverty is three times greater for those living in workless households than for those living in a house in work. We now have over 300,000 fewer children living in workless households, with more falls since those figures were put together. That is the best antidote to child poverty.

Oral Answers to Questions

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Monday 31st March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mike Penning]

I could not agree more and I was very proud to be able to announce that we will be raising the benefit to 80% of average civil claims. That will give £123,000 to the claimants and their loved ones, plus £7,000 in legal fees, which if they do not spend they can keep; it will not be clawed back in any shape or form. People have waited for this scheme for many years and we will do everything we can to make sure that people who deserve it get it.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

10. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) the Work programme and (b) Universal Jobmatch.

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Esther McVey)]

The Work programme is a success, and industry figures show it has moved half a million people into work. Universal Jobmatch revolutionises the way jobseekers look for work and it has already helped many jobseekers find the jobs they want through the millions of vacancies posted since 2012.

[Diana Johnson]

We recently heard that 60% of jobs on the failing Universal Jobmatch programme are bogus, such as the one for an MI6 “target elimination specialist”, and many of my constituents have been ripped off by criminal scams. With the Jobmatch programme set to be axed, will MPs now get the monthly constituency figures on the number of jobseekers chasing each job, which was removed in 2013, or will that information still be withheld?

[Esther McVey]

Opposition Members just love to run everything down despite the fact that all these things we have put in place have helped a record number of people into work. We introduced a brand-new scheme that was in addition to what people could already do to look for work. More than half a million companies have opened up a scheme within Universal Jobmatch, which is helping millions of people to find work. Whenever we find any businesses that are not correctly adhering to terms and conditions—it is a tiny number—they are removed, but I have to say that this is a terrific addition to help people look for work. Shame on you!

Parliamentary Written Answer (Correction)

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Monday 6th January 2014 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Esther McVey)]

I wish to inform the House that an error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson) on 21 November 2013, Official Report, column 1023W—written answers and statements. The information included within the table in the answer to PQ 176414 contained some incorrect figures and these have now been amended. I apologise to the House for this error.

The full answer given was:

[Diana Johnson]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker’s allowance claimants in Hull have been sanctioned since 22 October 2012; how many such sanctions have been subsequently overturned; how many such claimants had previously been asked to undertake a literacy course by a jobcentre; and how many claimants were previously claiming employment support allowance. [176414].

[Esther McVey]

The information is tabled as follows:

[Diana Johnson]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker’s allowance claimants in Hull have been sanctioned since 22 October 2012; how many such sanctions have been subsequently overturned; how many such claimants had previously been asked to undertake a literacy course by a jobcentre; and how many claimants were previously claiming employment support allowance. [176414].

[Esther McVey]

The information is tabled as follows:

Oral Answers to Questions

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Steve Webb]

I do agree with my right hon. Friend. We are establishing an economy that is based on savings rather than debt, and one of the most important measures that we are implementing is automatic enrolment in workplace pensions. By Christmas, about 2 million workers will have been enrolled. Nine out of 10 people are choosing to stay in workplace pensions, and it is encouraging to note that—notwithstanding what sceptics have said—young people are particularly likely to do so, thus establishing a culture of saving from an early age.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

Since January, the coalition has no longer been producing the statistics showing the number of people chasing every job vacancy in each constituency. Will the Secretary of State bring those statistics back, so that we can have information about what is happening in our own constituencies?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I shall consider the hon. Lady’s request, and get back to her.

Oral Answers to Questions

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Monday 14th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

Universal credit will roll out very well and it will be on time and within budget. We should consider the reality of the record of the right hon. Gentleman’s Government on Departments and the mess they got into. They left us with IT blunders of over £26 billion. With respect to him, as he was not always involved, but the others were, I therefore think they should apologise first.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

17. What discussions he has had with Motability on the changes from disability living allowance to personal independence payment.

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Mike Penning)]

DWP Ministers have regularly met the management of Motability to ensure that they are well placed to manage the introduction of personal independence payments and are able to effectively support their customers through this transitional period.

[Diana Johnson]

There are 3,200 people in Hull who have a vehicle under the Motability scheme. What assessment has the Minister made of the number who will lose their vehicle under the new PIP criteria?

--- Later in debate ---

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

T8. Given the woeful performance of the Work programme in Hull and local job losses, does the Secretary of State agree with The Economist that Hull’s long-term jobseekers should give up looking for jobs in Hull and travel elsewhere in the country?

[Esther McVey]

I would never put out a message that people should not look for work, because work is vital to self-esteem, motivation and supporting one’s family, so I totally disagree with that statement.

Remploy

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Thursday 4th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Esther McVey]

I will indeed come back to the House to speak about our national employment strategy; that is only fair and correct. We have been working on it for some time. We have been analysing the Work Choice and Work programme figures and looking at other social support, such as job clubs, and we have developed for the first time ever this community support fund and opened 32 different sites across the country helping almost 750 disabled people.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

The disabilities Minister has talked a lot about opportunities and moving forward, so is she satisfied that in Hull in the first year of the Work programme only 10 people with disabilities were found work? Is that acceptable?

[Esther McVey]

As the hon. Lady says, we are working on the Work programme and taking huge strides forward, and I am looking at the specialist disability support such as Work Choice and how to reshape it to make it even better.

Personal Independence Payments

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Thursday 13th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Esther McVey]

Let me reiterate once again that this is a totally different system to ESA. It is a totally different benefit altogether. In fact, we inherited ESA from the previous Government. It was wrong in 2009 and we have put in place many steps to improve the system, including putting it through three reviews. I assure my hon. Friend that we have listened to the various disability groups and organisations, and that we will get this right.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

We have put men on the moon, so I do not understand it when the Minister says that it is impossible to do a cumulative impact assessment. Surely that is not beyond the wit of the hundreds of civil servants sitting in her Department.

Benefits Uprating (2013-14)

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Thursday 6th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Steve Webb]

No, it is not correct. The personal tax allowance will rise by just more than £1,300 in April. At a standard rate of 20%, that is approximately £260 a year, or £5 a week, which is more than the impact for the vast majority of households. The hon. Gentleman makes the mistake of taking measures in isolation. It is crucial to look at our measures as a whole, including tax allowance rises and cuts in petrol duty compared with previous plans, which benefit the working households he is most concerned about.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

I wonder what the Government have got against women. Does the Minister agree with the House of Commons Library figures that show that women will bear the brunt of these changes—80% of those affected will be women?

[Steve Webb]

I do not recognise the hon. Lady’s description. A wide range of the policies we have introduced—for example, in my area on state pension reform—are focused particularly on assisting women. Many beneficiaries of universal credit will be in lower-paid work, which includes many women. She referred to very low-paid women, who, for example, receive statutory maternity pay. They will almost all benefit from the personal tax allowance increase.

Oral Answers to Questions

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Monday 5th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hoban]

We must work out how much support jobseekers need to get into work to ensure that those who need the most support get into work quickly. The hon. Gentleman might also want to know that more people came off the unemployment register in Corby last month than in any other constituency in Northamptonshire.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

11. When he plans to announce the recipients of universal credit whose children will be eligible for free school meals.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Iain Duncan Smith)]

We are working closely with all the Departments that administer the staggering number of passported benefits—some 25 benefits in England, as well as about 20 in Scotland and Wales. The administration of passported benefits and determining who will receive them is the responsibility of various Departments—in the case of free school meals, it is the Department for Education. With different eligibility criteria all over the place giving rise to the massive complexity that has built up over the past few years, we are looking to simplify the system under universal credit while ensuring that those benefits continue to be available to the families who need them most.

[Diana Johnson]

Does the Secretary of State agree with the Church of England’s Children’s Society, which states that all children in families receiving universal credit should be eligible for free school meals? If he does not, why not?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I do not agree, because that would mean a huge increase even on the numbers with which the previous Government left us. If we did that, it would include an extra 2.5 million children and an estimated cost of up to £1 billion. I wonder whether the hon. Lady has talked to her hon. Friends on the Front Bench about whether that is another spending commitment they would like to make.