Welfare Reform
Debate between James Wild and Liz Kendall(3 days, 23 hours ago)
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Liz Kendall
No, that is not correct. As I set out in my statement, existing claimants on PIP will be protected. The reason we are making the changes for future claimants is that we want to start to focus that, for future claimants, on those with higher needs. For current claimants of both PIP and the universal credit health top-up, no one will be pushed into poverty as a result of the changes in the Bill.
James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)
Health and sickness benefit spending is set to hit £100 billion by the end of the Parliament, so why is the Secretary of State not bringing forward proper reforms rather than these rushed cuts imposed by the Chancellor that save only £2 billion, and that duck the difficult decisions to deal with the scale of the challenge that we face?
Liz Kendall
Perhaps the hon. Member should make that point to those on his Front Bench, who had 14 years.
Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report
Debate between James Wild and Liz Kendall(6 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Liz Kendall
I know my hon. Friend cares passionately about this issue and many other issues related to pensioners. I repeat what I said in my statement and, indeed, what the ombudsman said, which is there was no direct financial loss for the women. This is not about the increase in the state pension age; it is about how it was communicated. The research shows that only one in four people who get an unsolicited letter remember receiving or reading it, so sending those letters out earlier would not have made the difference. We cannot justify a flat-rate compensation scheme or, indeed, an individualised compensation scheme on that basis.
James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)
When the Secretary of State was in opposition, she said she was a “long-standing supporter” of WASPI women. Given that, what would she say to the WASPI women in my constituency, the 3,300 in her constituency and those across the country who will be disappointed at her rejection of any compensation, even if not at the level the ombudsman recommended?
Liz Kendall
My party opposed the Conservatives’ decision to accelerate increases in the state pension age, but that is not what the report is about. It is about how those changes were communicated and, at the risk of repeating myself, that is why we have taken this decision.