Oral Answers to Questions

Esther McVey Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab/Co-op)]

5. What recent assessment he has made of the likely effects of the under-occupancy penalty on households that include a disabled person.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Esther McVey)]

Let us be clear. The spare room subsidiary is not a penalty and it is not a tax. It is the result of, and a solution to, the inequality of treatment between those in the private rented and the social rented sector. The fact that housing benefit doubled in the past 10 years and the sheer imbalance in the system that we inherited resulted in 1.8 million people on waiting lists, 250,000 in overcrowded houses, and 1 million spare rooms in the system, when 180,000 claimants who are claiming disability living allowance, or whose partners are doing so, have spare rooms.

[Cathy Jamieson]

I thank the Minister for that answer, although I do not think it addresses the question. Disabled people in my constituency are coming to see me terrified about the implications of having to find additional money every week, so what can the Minister say about the disabled people who are contacting the local authority in my area to be told that they may not get a discretionary payment and that, even if they do, it may not last for the full year? Does she have any words of comfort for them?

[Esther McVey]

The hon. Lady, like all of us, has a duty to allay those fears, and it is something that we can all do. We know that so many specific instances could not be regulated clearly in law, hence we have trebled the discretionary payment to take into account all these factors. We know that pensioners are exempt and that we are helping, obviously, severely disabled children, and we have made clear all those who are being assisted. It is our duty to make sure that facts are clearly spelled out, and those who are most in need will be supported.

[Duncan Hames (Chippenham) (LD)]

I know from my own constituency case load that Wiltshire council is often persuaded that families with disabled children can require an additional room in order to meet their needs. Will the Minister clarify the earlier answer to the hon. Member for Gravesham (Mr Holloway)? Is it the Government’s position that these families will be reliant on discretionary payments, or is it indeed the case that they will not see their housing benefit cut?

[Esther McVey]

If the disabled child cannot share and there is impact on another child, if they need that room, that room will be provided for, as the Secretary of State has said and in accordance with the local authorities.

[Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)]

I thank the Secretary of State and the Minister for their answers today. This policy will affect all parts of the United Kingdom irrespective of the devolved settlement in Northern Ireland. On the assessment and the figures that have been presented today, is the Minister able to say something about how many people will be affected in Northern Ireland, given that there is a complete lack of single bedroom homes, both in the private and public sectors, in Northern Ireland?

[Esther McVey]

I will be very happy to write to the hon. Gentleman with the exact numbers for Northern Ireland. I can say, from the money that has been made available through the discretionary payments, that we will be supporting those most in need, as we have said so clearly throughout today.

[Mrs Anne McGuire (Stirling) (Lab)]

Given that the Prime Minister continues to state that families with disabled children or with family members as carers will somehow be exempt from the bedroom tax—and before the Minister reaches for her brief and tells me once more about the discretionary fund, she needs to realise that it is time limited and there is not enough in the fund—will the Minister advise the House whether the Prime Minister is pulling the wool over the public’s eyes, or has she abrogated her responsibilities as the Minister with responsibility for disabled people and not told them the exact impact of his Government’s policies?

[Esther McVey]

In line with the judgment, the Prime Minister was correct. We have clarified today that they will have the room and they will not need to move.

[Ann Coffey (Stockport) (Lab)]

8. What recent representations he has received on the sharing of data on missing children in the Troubled Families programme.

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[Glyn Davies (Montgomeryshire) (Con)]

17. What plans he has to support disabled entrepreneurs.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Esther McVey)]

We offer a range of support to help disabled people get and stay in work, including Work Choice, the Work programme and Access to Work. In fact, we have extended Access to Work to make it available to disabled people setting up businesses though the new enterprise allowance.

[Glyn Davies]

Investment in disabled people’s user-led organisations has proved very helpful to disabled people, but does my hon. Friend accept that it is crucial for the coalition Government’s commitment to delivering fairness that we build on this policy?

[Esther McVey]

I share my hon. Friend’s views about disabled people’s user-led organisations, which is why we have put £3 million aside—£2.2 million has been spent so far—to support programmes that are being built by such organisations. I have been impressed with the innovative designs that have resulted from that, including, most recently, an app called Georgie, which was designed by a blind person and is now being manufactured and used across the country.

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

18. What plans he has to tackle the potential for digital exclusion under his plans for universal credit; and if he will make a statement.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Shailesh Vara (North West Cambridgeshire) (Con)]

T8. What assessment has the Minister made of the support available to disabled people through the Access to Work programme?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Esther McVey)]

Last year 30,000 disabled people were supported through Access to Work. We have extended that programme and added an extra £15 million, and it is working very well.