Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Caroline Dinenage

Monday 3rd November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I have not seen that report, but I am happy to look at it. However, I believe that the work being done in schools under this Government to support people who come from low-income families is phenomenal. Introducing that support for those children means that more children are now staying in school. As I said earlier, they are getting better results directly as a result of that support provided for them in school.

[Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

T7. Casework in my constituency has shown that, although the Department for Work and Pensions does well in identifying and prioritising claims made by terminally ill patients, when those claims are passed to Atos there is a lack of monitoring. What steps is the Department taking to ensure that those claims are dealt with in a timely manner at every point in the system?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Caroline Dinenage

Monday 1st September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

The hon. Lady is in a hole and she really should stop digging. Let me remind her of what we had to take over when we came into government. Left unreformed, the bill that Labour left us with would have exceeded £26 billion in 2014-15. Instead, today, it is £24 billion—£2 billion less. Under Labour, in-work and out-of-work housing benefit claimant numbers increased, and those who were in more despair, being out of work, had to claim higher payments. Under us, homelessness is down 7%, half the peak that occurred under the last Government, and rent collection is currently 98% higher than under the last Government. Also, housing association arrears fell during the last two quarters. All of that is better than anything that the last Government left us as a result of their record on spending.

[Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

T2. A number of my constituents have experienced lengthy delays while waiting for a decision on a review of their personal independence payment application. That is a time of great uncertainty and stress for all concerned. In addition to the efforts that the Minister has already outlined, will he tell us what steps he will take to speed up the application, review and appeal processes?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Caroline Dinenage

Monday 1st July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, that is an existing problem. The European Union insists that family benefits are paid at the highest level, depending on which country the recipient is in. Someone coming to the UK to work from, say, Poland would still get their family benefit paid to them, but if it is lower than family benefits over here, the top-up amount will go back to their families. I believe that is iniquitous, and I am not alone. I have had a series of discussions with others from Holland, Denmark and Germany, and there is a genuine consensus—it is growing dramatically—that it is wrong and that we need to change it, so we are engaging with the Commission on a plan to change it.

[Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

T6. A high percentage of employment and support allowance claims have been won on appeal because the claimant produced evidence that had not previously been made available. What can the Department do to encourage all relevant documents to be provided from the outset to save unnecessary costs and emotional stress?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Caroline Dinenage

Monday 23rd January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Chris Kelly (Dudley South) (Con)]

9. What recent progress he has made on delivering universal credit.

[Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

19. What recent progress he has made on delivering universal credit.

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

Design work is well under way. As I said earlier, we are continually testing with staff and claimants to ensure that it works and that we make progress. On 8 December the major projects review group panel report acknowledged that significant progress had been made over the past few months.

[Mr Duncan Smith]

Universal credit will be a major sea change for my hon. Friend’s constituents, who will appreciate the fact that for the first time ever we will guarantee that work pays. Figures show that 2.8 million households will have higher entitlements under the universal credit.

[Caroline Dinenage]

Is there any flexibility in the way in which the universal credit will be paid? For example, could it be paid weekly rather than monthly, and could its housing component be paid directly to landlords in order to protect vulnerable families?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Iain Duncan Smith and Caroline Dinenage

Monday 13th June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I must say to the hon. Lady that they are not. Actually, our adjustments have been welcomed because they mean that more disabled people in difficult family circumstances will find themselves benefiting to a higher degree. Our changes will work well with universal credit. Also, the whole idea of bringing more disabled people into the work force has to be a good thing, or perhaps she disagrees with that.

[Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

6. What steps he is taking to improve the measurement of pensioner poverty.