Milburn Review: Interim Report

Gordon McKee Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Western]

I agree with my hon. Friend: sometimes this can feel like a vicious circle for young people with disabilities, and we must ensure that we get this right.

[Gordon McKee (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

My generation and the generation after me have been systematically failed. The scale of the NEETs crisis is not because of young people but, as the Minister said, due to a widespread problem across education, health and the welfare system. May I take this opportunity to welcome the report, praise the work of the excellent jobcentre staff in Castlemilk in my constituency, and invite the Minister to come to a jobs fair for young people that we are hosting later this year?

[Andrew Western]

I join my hon. Friend in his praise for local jobcentre staff. He knows that I would never refuse him, and I look forward to that visit.

Relationship between Social Security Scotland and the DWP

Gordon McKee Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Western]

I understand that. I am the Minister with responsibility for the relationship with the Scottish Government and, therefore, Social Security Scotland, so if the hon. Lady would be kind enough to let me know about the issues, too, I would be very happy to see what we can do to seek a resolution. I think it would be helpful to set out a little bit of the background and context to this issue, before saying what I am able to say about the peculiarities of the system that she highlights, and the impact that they have had on some of her constituents.

We should all expect our welfare system to deliver for people as a safety net in difficult times, and to give people the opportunity to build better lives, wherever in the UK they happen to live, so it is only right that we pay attention to this issue. The hon. Lady is a powerful advocate for her constituents, but wherever colleagues are around the country, they should expect an effective and efficient service from the Department, as should their constituents.

Following the devolution of significant social security powers through the Scotland Act 2016, responsibility for the delivery of welfare support to people in Scotland is shared between the UK Government and the Scottish Government. That means that many people in Scotland receive social security support from both the UK Government, provided by the DWP, and from the Scottish Government, delivered by Social Security Scotland.

[Gordon McKee (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) on raising a very important issue that our constituents face. Does the Minister agree that the prolonged confusion and delay in Social Security Scotland taking over the administration of devolved benefits from the DWP has contributed to a sense of confusion among people about who is responsible for providing the support that they receive?

[Andrew Western]

My hon. Friend makes an important point. I do not want to get into a tit-for-tat, in terms of determining responsibility between the Westminster Government and the Scottish Government, but it is certainly fair to say that the agency agreements we have entered into have been extended, in some cases on more than one occasion. That can lead to it taking a protracted amount of time for us to deliver as we would hope, and in the most aligned way possible.

Winter Fuel Payment

Gordon McKee Excerpts

Wednesday 19th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Joy Morrissey]

It is clear that we did not get rid of it in the first place, and we had 14 years. The interesting thing that we keep hearing—

[Gordon McKee (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

Did the hon. Lady hear the question? Yes or no?

[Joy Morrissey]

I think our record speaks for itself—we had 14 years. It is very interesting that the Labour party talks about tough choices. For pensioners, turning off the heat—being made to choose between heating and eating—is a tough choice. That is a choice that this Labour Government have made for the most vulnerable.