Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Work and Pensions

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Morrice Excerpts
Monday 3rd November 2014

(10 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mark Harper Portrait The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Mr Mark Harper)
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I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s question. We have introduced a range of improvements for claims from terminally ill people. We are already seeing claims at around the expected level of 10 days. The assessment providers treat these cases as a high priority: 99% are processed within two days and 100% within five days.

Graeme Morrice Portrait Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)
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T5. One of the greatest failings of this Government is the high level of in-work poverty and the significant cost of in-work benefits. Therefore—this is a similar question to that asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Ann McKechin), who stole my thunder a tad—is it not time for the Secretary of State to be a real advocate of the living wage, to help address this problem?

Iain Duncan Smith Portrait Mr Duncan Smith
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Under this Government, take-home pay rose last year by more than inflation for all but the richest 10%. Average annual pay growth is 3.7% for those who have stayed in work between 2012 and 2013, and disposable income last year was higher than in any year under the previous Government.