Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 21st May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

I look forward to working with the hon. Gentleman as we steer the DB White Paper into legislation, but the legislation is looking at the future—it is not necessarily retrospective.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T6. Universal credit is scheduled to be introduced in Crawley on 6 June. What support will be offered to my constituents who will be affected?

[Alok Sharma]

Ahead of the roll-out, my hon. Friend’s local jobcentre will speak to local partners, such as the local authority and Citizens Advice, to ensure that claimants are supported as they come on to universal credit. My officials and I will host an induction session tomorrow for all colleagues who have UC rolling out in their area in the near future, so I hope that he will join us.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

The position in relation to both matters is that they are worked through with the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund, particularly in relation to British Steel, to ensure that members get information on the effect on their pension rights of staying with BSPS or moving to BSPS II. That includes newsletters, a website and bespoke option packs. The Financial Conduct Authority has also stepped in and banned a variety of organisations, and it is providing proper advice.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T4. What steps has the Department to taken to help older people who are looking, perhaps after redundancy or caring responsibilities, to get back into work?

[The Minister for Employment (Damian Hinds)]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. There are more working people in older age groups now than there ever have been, but much more needs to be done, which is why we published our “Fuller Working Lives” strategy. Of course, many employers are waking up to the possibilities in jobcentres, and we are also making sure that we have more older worker champions to represent that group fully.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 13th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

I will look at the facts of the case, but I cannot make a blanket commitment, because one obviously has to look at the particular circumstances. Of course, we recognise and support our veterans at every opportunity.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

A constituent who recently contacted me is concerned about how long they are having to wait for a tribunal hearing. Will my right hon. Friend make representations to the Ministry of Justice about the efficiency of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service?

[Mr Gauke]

I am happy to convey my hon. Friend’s concerns.

Personal Independence Payments

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 28th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Damian Green]

We are introducing them very carefully. I completely agree that people likely to suffer from anxiety should not be made unnecessarily anxious, which is why I am at pains to reassure them, the House and everyone else that this is not a policy change or a cut. Nobody will receive less benefit than they were originally awarded by the DWP.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I commend the Secretary of State for his response. Through the PIP improvement plan, can he assure constituents of mine who find it difficult to travel to assessments that they will be supported?

[Damian Green]

Yes I can. Assessors already visit people who need that particular service, and obviously that will continue.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 9th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

6. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that people have the information they need to make informed decisions about how they use their pension investments.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions (Richard Harrington)]

Mr Speaker, were I allowed to wish you a happy new year, you can be assured that I would do so.

Pension Wise provides guidance to people aged 50 and over with a defined contribution pension pot on their options under the pension flexibilities. We are consulting on a single financial guidance body to provide debt advice and guidance on money and pensions.

[Henry Smith]

In thanking the Minister for his reply, I cannot resist wishing him, and indeed the whole House, a happy new year. Can he tell me what information the Government are providing to let people know about their entitlement to the state pension?

[Richard Harrington]

I thank my hon. Friend for his salutations and for his question. The Department for Work and Pensions continues to run a multi-channel communication campaign that includes radio, press and social media to raise awareness of the new state pension. As well as directing people to information on gov.uk and working with stakeholders to deliver key information, our priority has been to provide personalised information to individuals so that they know how much state pension they are likely to get, and from when. Since February 2016, the online Check your State Pension service has had more than 2.1 million views.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 21st November 2016 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

1. What steps the Government are taking to give older workers the support they need to find or stay in work.

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

7. What steps the Government are taking to give older workers the support they need to find or stay in work.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Damian Green)]

May I, on behalf of the Government, echo the thoughts about Andy Murray? He is a great Scotsman who has made a great contribution.

There are more older people in employment than ever before, but we know that there is more to do. We recently appointed Andy Briggs, chief executive of Aviva UK, as business champion for older workers to promote the benefits they bring to employers.

[Henry Smith]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that answer. What more are the Government doing to build on the fuller working lives strategy that they launched in 2014?

[Damian Green]

My hon. Friend is right to point out the importance of the fuller working lives strategy. We will be publishing a new strategy in the new year to build on the success of the fuller working lives strategy, and that will set out its future direction. I am particularly keen that it should be led by employers, because I think that employers are the best people to persuade other employers of the benefits of employing older workers. That is true for the employers themselves and for individuals, and it is particularly true for the public sector.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 11th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Crabb]

I hear the hon. Lady’s point, but it is important not to infer too many causal links between the factors that she is raising, and she needs to be extremely careful in how she describes those cases at the Dispatch Box. I am happy to discuss the matter with her on another occasion.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T2. What support is my right hon. Friend’s Department offering to those in later middle age and older who are seeking work?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

My hon. Friend raises a very good point. We are doing a number of things in this area. For example, as well as access to a full Jobcentre Plus offer of personalised support, the Department for Work and Pensions introduced older claimant champions in each of the seven Jobcentre Plus groups to work with work coaches within jobcentres to raise the profile of older workers, highlight the benefit of employing older jobseekers and share good practice.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 1st February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

15. What progress his Department has made in reducing the number of workless households.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

21. What progress his Department has made on reducing the number of workless households.

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

The number of workless households is now at its lowest-ever level, having fallen by over 680,000 since 2010.

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I do agree with my hon. Friend. We know that unemployment is one of the causes of family breakdown. Having a family member in work helps to create strong and stable families, which are crucial to giving children the best possible start in life. It is therefore very welcome that the number of workless households in the east midlands—a huge part of which my hon. Friend represents—has fallen by 68,000 since we came to power. I remind my hon. Friend and the House that, notwithstanding all the nonsense that we hear from Labour Members, some 2.5 million children were growing up in workless households when they left office. That is not much of a record.

[Henry Smith]

Will my right hon. Friend join me in welcoming the fact that the number of workless households in the south-east has fallen by more than 50,000 since 2010? Does he share my dismay that Labour Members are still set against welfare reform, and want a high tax, high spending economy to take us back to the pre-2010 days?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

My hon. Friend’s question is a strong endorsement of the reforms that have reduced the number of workless households in the south-east by such a large number. Since 2010, the claimant count in Crawley has fallen by 60%, and the youth claimant count has fallen by 75%. Getting people into work clearly has a huge effect. However, my hon. Friend should not be too unkind to the Opposition. I know that many Labour Members who are not now on the Front Bench think that they should be engaging with us on welfare reform, but their new leadership does not believe in that; it believes only in opposition.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Priti Patel]

Labour has clearly now changed its policy on sanctions, which of course it used to support. The sanctions system is kept under constant review, and we are trialling an early-warning system, as recommended by the Work and Pensions Committee. I would have thought she welcomed that. Sanctions play an important part in the labour market by supporting people, particularly those with health conditions, into work. [Interruption.] Labour Members have conveniently forgotten that ESA sanctions and ESA were put in place by a Labour Government. The sanctions system is clear, fair and effective in promoting positive behaviours to help claimants back into work.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

3. What assessment he has made of the effect of auto-enrolment on private sector pension saving.

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

18. What assessment he has made of the effect of auto-enrolment on private sector pension saving.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

Since the gradual introduction of automatic enrolment began in 2012, participation in workplace pension saving in the private sector has increased by 21 percentage points, from 42%, or 5.9 million workers, in 2012, to 63%, or 9.2 million workers, in 2014.

[Henry Smith]

Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating B&CE, based in my constituency, on so expertly rolling out its people’s pension, an important provision for workers across the country?

[Mr Vara]

I am happy to congratulate B&CE on its people’s pension product and the work it does. It is important that the roll-out of automatic enrolment receives as much support as possible so that people can make choices that are right for them. I also commend my hon. Friend for his excellent work, which was evident when I visited his constituency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Esther McVey]

Mind also looked at the fact that all previous job schemes did not do enough for those with mental health conditions, who are the hardest to help and support. The Work programme tailors support to the individual, looking at an individual’s barriers into work. We have helped thousands of people with mental health conditions into work, instead of writing them off. There is more to do, so we are working and doing extra pilots to see how we can better engage with people with mental health conditions.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I was very grateful to the Secretary of State for visiting Crawley last month to see how successfully the Work programme was operating. Will my right hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to the staff of Royal British Legion Industries who deliver the Work programme in my constituency for paying great attention to getting disabled people and people with mental health conditions back into work?

[Esther McVey]

Indeed I will join my hon. Friend in celebrating the work of the Royal British Legion and all the other charities and voluntary groups up and down the country as they try to ensure that there is a personalised plan and support for people looking for work. They do an invaluable job, and the people who go into such a field have a passion for getting people into work.