Oral Answers to Questions
Gill German Excerpts(1 week, 6 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
David Taylor (Hemel Hempstead) (Lab)
Gill German (Clwyd North) (Lab)
Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)
Liz Kendall
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that having more parents, including lone parents and second earners in couples, in better paid jobs is critical to tackling child poverty. There has been a big shift in the nature of poverty since our success during the last Labour Government, when we lifted over 600,000 children out of poverty, as there are now more children growing up in poverty in a working household, so improving the parental employment rate is critical to driving down those numbers.
Gill German
Tu Mundo, or Your World, is a growing independent business that recently opened its third coffee shop, in Rhyl. Tu Mundo has a distinctive style, not just with the toucan motif that graces everything, including its teapots, but with its commitment to economic growth in the local area. In partnership with the local employability service, Working Denbighshire, Tu Mundo hosts work-start placements for those entering or re-entering the workplace, with several graduates going on to become permanent employees. Will the Secretary of State join me in congratulating Tu Mundo and Working Denbighshire on that work? Does she agree that that is exactly the sort of partnership work that will bring fair economic growth across the UK?
Liz Kendall
Yes. I would like to say a massive thanks to Tu Mundo for all the work it is doing. There is a lot of evidence that work placements or work experience are a really important way to encourage more people into work. Last week, I visited B&M, the fastest growing retailer in the country, to look at what it is doing with short work experience placements, which are a form of “try before you buy” for the company and the employee. The placements have a huge success rate and B&M now recruits 85% of its workers through the scheme. We want to continue such success in the future.
Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill
Gill German ExcerptsMonday 3rd February 2025
(1 week, 6 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2024-26 View all Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2024-26 Debates Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Gill German (Clwyd North) (Lab)
This Bill is crucial for delivering on this Government’s manifesto commitment to safeguard taxpayers’ money. As the Secretary of State has rightly stated, we must be
“turning off the tap to criminals who cheat the system and steal law-abiding taxpayers’ money.”
In Wales alone, the national fraud initiative found £7.1 million of fraud and payment errors in 2022-23, up by £0.6 million since the previous year. Figures such as this show just how much a blight on the economy fraud and error continue to be. I have heard at first hand from constituents about instances of benefit fraud that they are well aware of, such as individuals using past addresses to make claims to which they are not entitled. They know that this is not right, and they expect us to take action. It is also essential that we crack down on organised crime gangs and streamline the process through which DWP investigators can act to bring these serious offenders to justice more swiftly.
I welcome this Government’s crackdown on fraud, because every £1 lost to fraudulent claims is £1 that could be spent on vital public services—services that my constituents in Clwyd North rely on to strengthen our communities and improve lives. However, it is crucial that we make a clear distinction between intentional fraud and accidental individual error. Errors leading to overpayments may be the result not of deliberate wrongdoing, but of the inherent complexity of the social security system itself. Many of my constituents have shared their struggles with the complexity of applying for benefits, and knowing what to apply for and how. This causes significant stress, and it exemplifies the risks of penalising individuals who may simply have been unable to navigate the system, further entrenching the fear of making a mistake. The Bill must therefore go hand in hand with reforms to make this navigation far more straightforward.
A YouGov survey for Turn2us in 2024 found that 77% of respondents believed they would struggle when they needed to claim benefits if their circumstances changed. This highlights the real challenges that people face in navigating a system that is often confusing and difficult to understand. The Government must ensure that their powers to recover overpayments differentiate between fraudulent criminal activity and genuine mistakes. Without this distinction, there is a risk of penalising individuals who have simply struggled to navigate the system, and those people may already be in vulnerable situations.
Getting this Bill right, however, will mean that £1.5 billion of taxpayers’ money over five years will be saved. That money can be invested in the services that people in my constituency and across the country rely on, from public transport to local infrastructure. With fraud and error costing nearly £10 billion a year, we must act decisively to drive down this fraud and error and protect public funds. At a time when families are struggling and public services are under pressure, ensuring that taxpayers’ money is spent where it is truly needed is not just responsible, but essential.
This Bill must tackle fraud and error in a way that is fair and proportionate and does not punish those who have made an honest mistake. I know that the Government have worked hard to include measures that will ensure that these critical distinctions are made as the Bill progresses. However, it is crucial that we do not shy away from coming down on this issue, and that we ensure constituents see their hard-earned contributions going directly to the services that strengthen our communities.
Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report
Gill German Excerpts(1 month, 4 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Liz Kendall
I welcome the overall tone of the hon. Lady’s comments. I am glad that she is finally considering her party’s response to the ombudsman’s report, and I am sure that the whole House looks forward to its detailed response to the findings and recommendations, which were not provided when the Conservatives were in Government.
I am sorry that the hon. Lady still fails to take responsibility for the state of the public finances. We have taken full responsibility for that and have taken difficult decisions on the public finances. We have also taken this very difficult decision in response to the ombudsman’s report and have provided that to the House as quickly as we have been able, given the huge amount of information we have had to go through.
The hon. Lady asks about next steps. We have three clear things that we intend to do. We will produce a detailed action plan. We want to work with the ombudsman on that so that we can ensure that the delay, the maladministration and the 28-month delay in sending out notifications never happens again, and I am perfectly happy to consider working with the women to make sure we get that right. It is extremely important that, wherever possible, we provide personalised, tailored information. Pensions are a hugely complicated area, and we want people to be empowered with that information and knowledge. We have to do it in all sorts of different formats, because it is individual to the person, and we need to get that right in future.
The hon. Lady also mentioned pension credit and the winter fuel payment. I will say to her, as I did yesterday, that we have seen a 145% increase in the number of claims for pension credit since we launched our campaign. More than 42,000 more people are claiming pension credit now. We want to deal with yet another thing the Conservative Government left us with, which was 880,000 pensioners not getting the pension credit or the winter fuel payment they are entitled to.
These are difficult decisions. We are a responsible Government and we face up to our responsibilities. I look forward to Members on the Conservative Benches finally doing the same.
Gill German (Clwyd North) (Lab)
This is clearly not a decision that the Secretary of State has taken lightly, and an apology on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions is long overdue, but let us make no mistake: the responsibility for this lies squarely with the Conservative party, which oversaw the maladministration and kicked the can down the road yet again, for us to clear up the mess. That must be put right. Can my right hon. Friend assure my constituents that a serious case like this will not occur again, and that this Government will continue to do everything we can to support pensioners going forward?
Liz Kendall
I can assure my hon. Friend’s constituents in Clwyd North that we want to learn all the lessons from the maladministration that we accept took place. We have to get people timely, effective and personal communication, and not just about their state pension age but about all aspects of pensions, so that they can properly plan for their retirement. The Pensions Minister and I will go through that with a fine-toothed comb to do everything possible to make sure it does not happen again.
“Get Britain Working” White Paper
Gill German Excerpts(2 months, 3 weeks ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Liz Kendall
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that important contribution. I and the Minister for Social Security and Disability would be keen to hear more about that work. I recently visited a supported employment programme—a year-long supported internship—run by my local health service for young people with autism and severe learning difficulties. It started by talking to the parents about what the young people could do, and not just what they could not do. The young people were got on the bus to get them to work. They tried three different jobs around the hospital to find the one that best matched their needs, and after that year every single young person was given a paid job. That is so successful that we are expanding it to the local university and to one of Leicester’s biggest hotel chains. These changes are possible, and I am keen to work with the right hon. Gentleman in his area to ensure that we give these opportunities.
Gill German (Clwyd North) (Lab)
I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. I believe that these reforms will be transformative, and it is not before time. In my constituency, we have long recognised the gaps that exist in the system. Our local authorities have put in place the brilliant “Working Denbighshire” programme and Conwy employment hub, which really drills down into what local people need and takes them on a pathway into work. Does the Secretary of State agree that devolving power and—crucially—funding in the way she set out is key to achieving the best results we can for local people in their area?
Liz Kendall
This is a major change in our approach. Local areas know best their needs and the different organisations that can help achieve goals. I know that economic inactivity in my city is predominantly driven by people with caring responsibilities; in other parts of the country, it is more about physical health or mental health problems. We need different things in different parts of the country—that is the best way to get the best results. It is a big change for the Department for Work and Pensions to be a much more localised service and to be much more joined up with other parts of government, both nationally and locally, but that is how we will deliver change.
Income Tax (Charge)
Gill German Excerpts(3 months, 1 week ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Gill German (Clwyd North) (Lab)
I could not have been more pleased to hear the Chancellor’s game-changing Budget last week, putting an end to the cynical short-termism of the previous Government and taking on the long-term challenge of rebuilding Britain to be the fairer, more equitable society that we know it can be. Today, what an absolute tonic it was to hear from our Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, who is serious about driving up opportunity and driving down poverty and has a serious plan to do so. No more tinkering at the edges and no more blame game with the very people who deserve our support, but a practical, people-centred plan to get Britain working and to support and empower the most vulnerable for the long term.
People in my constituency of Clwyd North have much to welcome in what the Secretary of State said. There is the £470 rise this year alone in the state pension through retaining the triple lock, despite the financial inheritance left to us by the Conservatives. The significant increase in the earnings threshold for eligibility for carer’s allowance is welcome news for 3,000-plus family carers in my constituency, as are the valuable consequential funds gained by Wales through the extension of the household support fund to support those struggling most with household costs.
If I may, I would like to celebrate the two measures that resonate most with me as a result of my journey to this House through teaching in our classrooms and working with our communities in local government. They are the £240 million package to open up opportunities to all those left behind to get into work and to get on in work, and the fair payment rate for universal credit, which is relied on so much by those in and out of work. Deductions will be capped at 15% rather than the crippling 25%, which stops too many families from ever getting their heads above water.
Our children, families and communities deserve a fighting chance. Only a joined-up, person-centred approach can achieve that, which is why I am delighted to see the dawn of the “Get Britain Working” White Paper, enabled by this Budget. At last, we have a Government who are putting investment front and centre of rebuilding our country—investment in infrastructure, business and, crucially, in our people. It is about time. Our people are our greatest asset. This is a Budget—
Carer’s Allowance
Gill German Excerpts(4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Gill German (Clwyd North) (Lab)
I am delighted to make my maiden speech in this debate today. Dw i’n mor falch o fod yn sefyll yma—I am so proud to be standing here.
Our carers, including our young carers, many of whom I have had the privilege to know as their teacher, are a vital part of our communities. It is incumbent on us to represent their voices and right that we take time to do that in this debate. I thank hon. Members who have contributed today, and other hon. Members who have already made their maiden speeches in this House. I hope that I can follow them with aplomb.
I wish to start by paying tribute to my predecessors. First, I would like to thank David Jones, the former MP for Clwyd West, for his 19 years of service to Clwyd West and, indeed, to his country as a former Secretary of State for Wales. Next, I wish to thank the former MP for the Vale of Clwyd, James Davies, for his service and for his keen eye for an impressive floral display through his work with Britain in Bloom. Finally, I pay warm tribute to the previous MP for Vale of Clwyd, Chris Ruane. An early local advocate of breaking down barriers to opportunity, Chris worked hard over many years to bring investment to the area, and never more so than in support of the development of the beautiful Rhyl harbour and the magnificent Pont y Ddraig, or Dragon’s Bridge. He leaves a legacy that I am proud to have the opportunity to build on as MP for Clwyd North.
I am also proud to be breaking new ground. As one of three newly elected Welsh Labour women MPs in north Wales, I join my neighbours, my hon. Friends the Members for Bangor Aberconwy (Claire Hughes) and for Clwyd East (Becky Gittins), to form a formidable force along the coast. Clwyd North boasts miles of golden coastline—from Rhyl to Rhos on Sea, taking in Kinmel Bay, Towyn, Abergele and Pensarn, Llanddulas and Colwyn Bay. Our sandy beaches are a huge source of pride.
Since Victorian times, the Clwyd North coast has been a magnet for visitors. Generations of families have holidayed there from the north-west of England and beyond, with many families making north Wales their home, including my own. As well as the usual seaside fare of ice cream, buckets and spades, and fish and chips, the Clwyd North coast boasts a water sports centre, a Michelin-recognised restaurant at Porth Eirias, live music and picture-window dining at the Pavilion theatre, and the fabulous Theatr Colwyn, one of the oldest working theatres in Wales.
Move inland in Clwyd North and the wonder continues. From the gothic Marble Church in Bodelwyddan to the magnificent St Asaph Cathedral, impressive architecture and mountain views abound. Clwyd North boasts not just one but two medieval castles—in historic Rhuddlan and the market town of Denbigh.
Of course, areas such as ours have challenges too. As a local teacher for over 20 years, I saw at first hand the issues dealt with by local families, as they struggled to make ends meet with rising costs and flatlining wages. I knew that I needed to step up. I stood for election and became deputy leader of the local council and cabinet member for education, children and families. Make no mistake, my route into politics came straight through my classroom. A teacher of the very youngest, I saw children fizzing with potential coming through my door, only to see that potential dimmed in later years by struggle and circumstance. I saw a lack of economic growth hinder the lives of their families. Most stark of all, as the years went on, I saw the children I had once taught now grown, with children of their own and those same struggles continuing.
Our missions of growing the economy and breaking down barriers to opportunity are personal to me. I am motivated every day by the vision of every child being able to fulfil their potential. I am motivated by a vision of Clwyd North with a year-round, sustainable economy, playing our part in generating green energy, as well as in design, manufacturing and installation—economic growth powered by innovation, investment and a wealth of local skills.
I have been so lucky to have been surrounded by the best and most supportive people that anyone could wish for: my hard-working and loyal dad, Graham; my kind, clever, deeply caring brother, Lee; my bright and brilliant children, Sam and Josie. Then there is my trinity of invincible, inspiring women: my best friend, Kelly; my much-missed Grandma Celia; and the linchpin of it all, my amazing mum, Kath. These people and more have made me who I am. Living, growing and working in our beautiful part of north Wales has made me who I am. As Member of Parliament for Clwyd North, I will work hard, day in, day out, to make it the very best it can be for our families, for our communities, for all of us.