Universal Credit: Delayed Roll-Out Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: Department for Work and Pensions

James Cartlidge

Main Page: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)

Department Debates - View all James Cartlidge's debates with the Department for Work and Pensions


Petition

Universal Credit: Delayed Roll-Out

James Cartlidge Excerpts

Lobby and Media Briefings: Journalists' Access
Tuesday 4th February 2020

(4 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
Share Debate
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts

Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.

Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.

This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record

Will Quince Portrait Will Quince
- Hansard -
- - Excerpts

I hope you recall, Mr Speaker, that I did make a full, frank and unreserved apology in this Chamber. As for the case that the hon. Lady raises, if she would like to write to me with the details, I will happily look into it. There are strict Treasury rules about errors and deductions, but I will be happy to look at them.

James Cartlidge Portrait James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)
- Hansard -
-

Will my hon. Friend confirm that today’s announcement does not change the fundamental course of our policy, which is to move away from a perverse legacy system that incentivised claimants to minimise the number of hours worked to one that incentivises them to maximise their hours and gives them a chance to move away from long-term benefit dependency?

Will Quince Portrait Will Quince
- Hansard -
- - Excerpts

I thank my hon. Friend for that question and for his support for universal credit and, indeed, his local jobcentre. We believe that work should always pay, and we need a welfare system that helps people into work, supports those who need help, and is fair to the taxpayers who pay for it. It is important to stress—my hon. Friend is right about this—that it always pays to work and increase one’s hours under universal credit. That was not the case under the legacy benefit system.

Return to start of debate - Return to top of page