Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Monday 5th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mel Stride]

The hon. Gentleman is entirely right. Small changes can often make a big difference, not just for autistic people but for the businesses they go on to serve and work in. He will have to be a little more patient about the Buckland review report coming out, but it will not be long. I also point him to the Access to Work and Disability Confident approaches, which both do exactly what he suggests.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

22. What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the number of people who are not eligible for statutory sick pay because they are paid less than the lower earnings limit on levels of inequality in Stoke-on-Trent North constituency.

[The Minister for Employment (Jo Churchill)]

The Department has not made a specific assessment for the Stoke-on-Trent North constituency, but I refer my hon. Friend to the evidence I presented to the Work and Pensions Committee last week. I look forward to meeting him this week to discuss this in more detail.

[Jonathan Gullis]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for her answer. I am proud to have joined a campaign, together with my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel) and the hon. Member for Glasgow East (David Linden), to reform statutory sick pay. That campaign, led by the Centre for Progressive Change, was referenced in today’s Times Health Commission report. Ahead of the spring Budget, will the Department join us in lobbying the Treasury to make these important changes, so that we have a healthier workforce that contributes more to our economy and, more importantly, so that we make sure that work pays fairly?

[Jo Churchill]

I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave to the Work and Pensions Committee. Statutory sick pay is considerably more complex than he makes out, but it is nice to see all this cross-party collaboration.

--- Later in debate ---

[Paul Maynard]

I can confirm to the hon. Gentleman that the Child Maintenance Service has a domestic abuse plan to ensure that parents are not placed in danger as a consequence of any suggestion of domestic violence; for example, it has a centralised sort code to limit the risk of parental involvement.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

I wish to place on record my thanks to the Secretary of State for helping to guide my private Member’s Bill through Parliament. It lowers the pension auto-enrolment age from 22 to 18, and abolishes the lower earnings threshold. Briefly, has the Secretary of State received reassurances from the Chancellor that the necessary forms will be implemented in the spring Budget?

[Mel Stride]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. Those matters are under active consideration.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Monday 4th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mel Stride]

I think it is very unfortunate when any Member of this House looks down on a certain category of job that is employing hundreds of thousands of people perfectly satisfactorily. In fact, in that interview I said:

“I think as a department we shouldn’t be prescriptive,”—

referring to the over-50s—

“so we’re not here to start pontificating about whether people should or should not go back into work”.

Hopefully that has put the record straight. We are doing a huge amount to support those over 50 who have retired prematurely, including the midlife MOT, returnerships and the tax changes we have made around pensions, and we will continue to support people. That is why we are seeing those inactivity rates above 50 declining quite strongly.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

Sickness and sick pay are an anchor when it comes to getting people back into work, as well as helping to grow the economy. That is why the Centre for Progressive Change produced an excellent report that has support from Members across this House. Will my right hon. Friend therefore meet me and my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel), who has also supported it, to look at the proposals made, so that we can really help to improve sick pay—something that has the backing of 75% of British businesses?

[Mel Stride]

I would be very happy for either myself or the relevant Minister to meet my hon. Friend or my right hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel).

Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) (No. 2) Bill

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

3rd reading
Friday 24th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

The Bill before us today provides the legislative powers to implement the 2017 automatic enrolment review recommendations to extend automatic enrolment to young adults aged 18 to 21, by introducing powers to lower the age criteria for enrolment and remove the lower earnings limit, which would improve saving levels among low and moderate earners. Taken together, these changes would help improve financial resilience for retirement among young people, women and lower earners. Extending the eligibility age to 18 will support younger workers and provide them with the opportunity to begin saving from the start of their working lives for a more secure retirement.

Removing the lower earnings limit will proportionately benefit the lowest earners the most. Research from Onward shows that roughly 25% of people from Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke are not yet auto-enrolled into pension schemes. The Bill tackles that, creating more stability in the long term. For the first time, everyone will get an employer contribution from the very first pound of their earnings if they are enrolled or opt in. That will help to improve the incentive to save, especially for women and those individuals working part time or in multiple jobs.

Automatic enrolment has been and remains a long-term project. It has been successful through the adoption of a carefully staged, systematic and evidence-based approach, which has been supported by the consensus, including cross-party support, in this place. That is the approach on which successful expansion must be based and why the Bill works in the way that it does—to require Ministers to consult before implementing these changes, for example, on the best way and the optimum timetable for doing so. That gives Parliament, employers, workers and other stakeholders a key role in determining how best to implement the expansion of workplace pensions.

People who earn £9,000 from two separate jobs, and who may be working 12 to 18 hours a week, juggling their jobs around childcare or caring responsibilities, do not currently get the benefits of auto-enrolment at all. For part-time workers, auto-enrolment stands at around 60%, compared with almost 90% of workers in full-time jobs. The Bill will see roughly an extra third of the part-time workforce auto-enrolled, which is an increase on the percentage based in Onward’s research.

Further research from Onward suggests that, when this change comes through, it will bring almost £3.5 billion to people in our area for their total life savings. This will be transformative for the lives of everyone not just across our great country but, most importantly, across Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke.

The Bill will help to put cash into communities, help people to help themselves, and provide the extra private sector money to deliver the levelling up that we so desperately need. Automatic enrolment is widely and rightly recognised as a success. It has transformed workplace pension saving for millions of workers and is enabling them to save towards greater security in retirement.

What this Bill makes certain is that, in areas such as Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, North West Durham and Consett, where nearly one in four people are not yet auto-enrolled onto a pension scheme, people will have more financial security in the long term. It simplifies the process, and for just a few pounds a week, through the power of compound interest, people could be £30,000 better off in retirement. That is absolutely transformative, which is why the Bill is so critical.

I know that the whole House is proud to support the Bill at this current stage and is committed to this expansion of auto-enrolment to build a more inclusive and stronger savings culture for future generations.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jonathan Gullis]

With the leave of the House, I wish quickly to place a few thank-yous on the record. First, let me thank the fantastic civil servants in the Department for Work and Pensions, many of whom are sitting in the Box today. They have been tremendously helpful to both me and my team in getting the Bill to where we are today. I thank the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Laura Trott), for her fantastic work in unblocking the blockages that had previously existed to bringing this legislation forward.

I thank the Opposition Front Benchers, including the hon. Members for Reading East (Matt Rodda) and for Wirral South (Alison McGovern), for all their support, kind words and guidance. I thank the Scottish national party spokesman, the hon. Member for Glasgow East (David Linden), who has championed this measure and is very excited by it. I also wish to thank the Association of British Insurers, the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association and the TUC for all their fine work, as well as Onward, that fantastic think tank, for the incredible work it is doing, now led by Sebastian Payne.

I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Castle Point (Rebecca Harris), who does not get enough praise in this House. Without her guidance and stern tongue, I might not sometimes be able to be kept in line enough to make sure that we move things smoothly along. So I am grateful to her for the advice she has provided to get us to this place. I also place on record my thanks to Baroness Altmann, who is going to be taking this Bill on in the other place and guiding it safely through to Royal Assent.

The final big shout-out needs to go to my office buddy, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Durham (Mr Holden), who did all the donkey work, the leg work, for this Bill. I have shamelessly come in and picked it up after he was sent to such high office that I see him only once a week, rather than three or four times a week. I also thank his incredible staff members, Gabriel Millard-Clothier and Robbie Lammas, as well as my own parliamentary researcher, Harry Mahoney-Roberts, and Nathan Purchase in my constituency office, who have suffered with me to get to where we are today. This is a fantastic piece of legislation and it will make a change to many lives in the future.

Question put and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read the Third time and passed.

Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) (No.2) Bill

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 15th March 2023 Public Bill Committees

[David Linden]

It is, as always, a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I congratulate the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North on getting his Bill through Second Reading, and I certainly commit my party to supporting the principles of what he is seeking to achieve.

Automatic enrolment of pensions is not an issue on which I disagree with the hon. Gentleman. It is probably the only issue on which he and I agree these days—that says more about our political differences than anything else. In a similar vein, it would be remiss of me not to pay tribute to the hon. Member for North West Durham (Mr Holden), who initially introduced the Bill before he moved on to the dizzy heights of ministerial office at the Department for Transport.

It would be fair to say that the finer details of pensions policy do not generally get people’s excitement levels rising, although Under-Secretary, the hon. Member for Sevenoaks, the hon. Member for Reading East and I find this stuff quite fascinating and exciting, so we rub along quite nicely. Although there is not excitement around pensions policy, there is scope for more political consensus. I believe that is true of automatic enrolment, which has generally been a success for our society. My only real criticism of AE is that there has not been a big enough attempt to include low earners and those of all ages. The Bill certainly makes great strides towards tackling that inequity, and it should help with some of the structural problems, such as the gender pensions gap, which does not get as much political attention as the gender pay gap.

I have no great desire to detain the Committee for any length of time today. I appreciate that the action is very much elsewhere—of course, I am referring to the local housing allowance debate in Westminster Hall this afternoon. The Minister knows and, I believe, understands my long-standing interest in extending automatic enrolment to everyone over the age of 16, not 22 or even 18, and for it to kick in from the first pound earned. The latter is particularly important for women, especially those who work part time and have not previously hit the threshold.

These are probing amendments. I am sure the Committee will be glad to know that I do not intend to press them to a vote. If Members want to be elsewhere, fear not; I will not press them to a Division. Amendments 1 to 4 seek to amend clause 1 to ensure automatic enrolment in a pension kicks in at the earliest stage—the age at which tax kicks in. They would put on the face of the Bill that automatic enrolment begins to apply from the age of 16, not 18, as the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North proposes. Amendments 2, 3 and 4 are merely technical amendments and are consequential in nature, so I will focus on the thinking behind amendment 1.

We all recognise that there are changes to the labour market, and that people’s employment journeys are changing. Many of us left the Chamber during the Chancellor’s speech when he was just getting on to that section of the Budget. He recognises that there are changes to the labour market. Likewise, the Work and Pensions Committee, on which I sit, is currently undertaking an inquiry into the plan for jobs and is trying to better understand some of the changes behind working practices and economic inactivity.

None of us—not even the Chancellor—has a silver bullet suggestion for how we fix the issues relating to under-25s and over-55s not participating in the labour market at the level they were before the pandemic. Following our recent cross-party trip to the USA, I know that I and others on that Committee certainly see apprenticeships as just one example of how we can offer a different path into the labour market.

That brings me very much to my own experience. When exam results are sent out, we politicians rightly talk about there being no wrong path for people’s employment journeys. Some, after school, move straight into further and higher education. Increasingly—this is my personal belief—they do so sometimes disproportionately for our economy. I use this analogy to explain it to folk: if I have a leaking roof or a leaking pipe, I do not want a doctor or a lawyer—I want a plumber. Perhaps, as an economy, we need to pivot a bit more towards some of the trades.

For others, and I am an example, the path on leaving school is a vocational qualification at first, such as an apprenticeship. It is with that in mind that I have tabled the amendments. We know from House of Commons Library research that, at any one time in the UK, approximately 572,000 people are undertaking an apprenticeship, sometimes for up to four years with the same employer, and from age 16. The Bill before us would exclude those apprentices from inclusion in automatic enrolment. I do not know why that is, especially when they are likely to have four years of contributions.

In responding to these probing amendments, will the Minister outline why the Government’s preference is for age 18 and not 16? Have they undertaken a specific impact assessment to age 16? If so, will they publish it? I know that the Government have published an impact assessment for age 18. It came through within the last hour, and I have looked at it, but it seems to extend only to age 18, not 16.

We all agree that automatic enrolment has been a success and extending it further to younger cohorts is clearly a good thing. On that, we will not disagree, but I do not understand why the proposal is to stop at age 18, not extending it all the way to 16, bringing it in line with the point when income tax kicks in, and including all workers. I very much look forward to the Minister outlining the Government’s rationale, and explaining why they would have any difficulty accepting amendment 1 to what is an otherwise excellent Bill.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I am grateful to you and to fellow Committee members for joining me today to scrutinise this important legislation, especially on Budget day.

The Bill before us contains two clauses. I am grateful to hon. Members for their support for the expansion of automatic enrolment into workplace pensions, a long-standing public policy objective that enjoys widespread support in this House and the other place, and therefore allowing this Bill to proceed to Committee, despite the lack of opportunity for a debate on Second Reading.

The Bill has a clear and straightforward purpose: to allow the Government to lower the age at which qualifying workers are automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme from 22 to 18, and to allow the Government to increase the overall amounts being saved by abolishing the lower earnings limit of the qualifying earnings band for workplace pension contributions.

I acknowledge the work of the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for North West Durham (Mr Holden)—my office buddy in this place—who championed a previous Bill in this Session with the same objectives and has handed the baton on to me, to carry forward improvements to retirement provisions for millions of our fellow citizens. He is a doughty champion for people up and down our country, as well as those of North West Durham. We are very lucky to have such a Member in the House.

[The Chair]

Order. The hon. Gentleman may be anticipating that we will get past this group of amendments, and we will then have a debate on clauses 1 and 2. I hope he will address his remarks to the specific amendments that we are debating at the moment.

[Jonathan Gullis]

I am more than happy to do that, and to return later on to the clauses, Sir Christopher.

I thank the hon. Member for Glasgow East for his amendments, which I understand aim to remove the regulation-making power to reduce the age of automatic enrolment, and replace it with a new minimum age of 16 for automatic enrolment and re-enrolment, and make consequential amendments. I am grateful for his explanation as to why he believes a lower minimum age would be beneficial. I would certainly support sitting down and discussing it with him at a later date, but this Bill seeks to amend the legislative framework for automatic enrolment to deliver the measures set out in the 2017 AE review, which considered the matter of a lower minimum age, weighed the evidence and concluded that starting from age 18 was the right approach. I am not convinced by the hon. Member’s arguments to depart from that finding today. As he knows, the Bill gives regulation-making powers to the Secretary of State to lower the age, subject to a statutory review and the use of the affirmative procedure. He will therefore have a further opportunity to make his case to colleagues in this House and other stakeholders when that consultation takes place. I look forward to working with him on that. If I may, I will return to some wider comments—

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

rose—

[The Chair]

Order. We are discussing the amendments only. We will have the opportunity to discuss things more generally when we get to clause stand part.

[Jonathan Gullis]

Thank you, Sir Christopher. I can give way to the hon. Lady—

[The Chair]

Does the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West wish to participate in this debate or in the more general debate?

--- Later in debate ---

[David Linden]

I must say that in moving the amendment, I had rather hoped that more consideration and debate would be given to it. With the greatest respect to the hon. Member for Reading East, I am baffled that the Labour party has nothing to say. Perhaps that is consistent with its policy positions these days. It was not that long ago that hordes of young people at Glastonbury were chanting the name of the former Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn). This rather strikes me as a bit odd. I understand that the Government have not always been the kind of folk who tend to have lots of lovely things to say about the labour movement or young people, but I am particularly baffled that this Labour party has nothing to say, nor any explanation as to why it has arrived at this policy position, other than to say, “We agree with that lot.”

With that in mind, I have sought to stimulate debate—rather unsuccessfully—but I look forward to the Bill making progress, I hope. I do not disagree with the Bill itself, as I said, but when we come to later stages I hope that we can agree to improve automatic enrolment further and to give this a little more consideration than it has been given today. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.

[Jonathan Gullis]

Thank you for educating me on Committee procedure, Sir Christopher. I clearly need to read up a lot more in “Erskine May”. I look forward to learning it at a later date.

I put clearly on the record my thanks to the Pensions Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks. This gives me the opportunity to thank her for securing Government support for the Bill, which she has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to do since entering her office. She has been working to get it into Parliament and, I hope, implemented as quickly as possible to ensure this for young people, apprentices, in particular, two of whom I have in my constituency office. Jessica and Mya are 18, paid well and will now be able to start building up their pension, which is totally brilliant for them. I look forward to having ensured that they provide for themselves in future.

The automatic enrolment framework was introduced by the Pensions Act 2008 and was gradually brought in for all employers across the UK, starting in 2012. By January 2023, 10.8 million people had been automatically enrolled into a workplace pension and 2.2 million employers were complying with their duties, with about an additional £33 billion in real terms saved in 2021, compared with 2012.

In 2017, the Government carried out a year-long review of automatic enrolment, with a panel of independent, expert advisers, resulting in a report, “Maintaining the momentum”, which set out recommendations to expand the workplace pensions framework. The proposed measures were widely supported by parliamentarians, stakeholders—including those representing employers and workers—and of course the pensions industry. The Bill is the first crucial step in implementing those recommendations, in that it will provide the necessary legislative powers. Helping people to save for later life should be one of the Government’s key priorities, particularly as the Bill will have a significant impact on the delivery of long-term investment to areas outside metropolitan London where there are fewer young people in part-time jobs.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jonathan Gullis]

May I put on record my thanks to you, Sir Christopher, and to everyone who has contributed to this short, constructive debate? I thank all Members who agreed to serve on the Committee, in particular the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, who has become a good friend in the House and a done a lot on pensions. Also, he may not want to admit it, but the hon. Member for Glasgow East and I are good friends, but I am sure that he will not put that on any endorsement leaflets any time soon.

[David Linden]

On a point of order, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman does not wish to mislead the Committee inadvertently. We cannot have that on the record; my constituents will deselect me.

[Jonathan Gullis]

I look forward to doing a podcast with the hon. Gentleman very soon to discuss all the great work that he does in the House as a SNP Member.

The Bill makes certain that people in areas such as Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, where nearly one in four people are not auto-enrolled in a pension, will have more financial security in the long term. It will simplify the process to mean that for just a few pounds a week, and through the power of compound interest, people could be £30,000 better off in retirement. That is absolutely transformative, which is why the Bill is critical.

I also thank the hon. Member for Reading East, whom I hugely admire in the House. I assure him that I too will keep the Government’s feet to the fire from the Government Benches so that we get an actual implementation date, because I do not like references to wishy-washy mid-2020s. I want to see a date firmly in writing. I am delighted that the consultation will take place in the autumn and I look forward then to hearing about a firm date.

I want to finish by again thanking my hon. Friend the Member for North West Durham—he deserves another shout-out—for his support throughout the passage of the Bill and for putting the case forward with Onward, a fantastic think-tank, which has done a lot of work with him to put the argument. I am delighted and proud that he was very kind in asking me to carry on his great work as he ascended to higher office and as I descended at the same time. I thank the Minister for getting the Bill supported by the Government, and for how she has worked with me, officials and obviously the Treasury, twisting arms wherever necessary to get the Bill over the line and, I hope, on the statute book.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 1 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 2 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Question proposed, That the Chair do report the Bill to the House.

[David Linden]

On a point of order, Sir Christopher. I thank you for chairing the proceedings in Committee and pay tribute to the Clerk, Chris Wilson, for his help in drafting amendments. I look forward to the Bill proceeding to the other House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Monday 6th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Tom Pursglove]

The disability action plan is a really valuable opportunity to drive forward meaningful progress in a number of areas to help to improve the lives of disabled people. We are in the process of assembling the ministerial disability champions, and I want to see ideas from across Government brought together. We will then hear from disabled people, get out there and consult on the plan, then make sure that we deliver it over the next 18 months to two years. This is about quick wins and getting those off the stocks and delivering for disabled people.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

I want to place on record my thanks to the Pensions Minister for her incredible hard work on automatic pension enrolment to get the age and the earnings lowered. Does she agree that it is a major concern for the people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke that 25% of people leave work without a workplace pension in place? That is why the Pensions (Extension of Automatic Enrolment) Bill is so important and I am grateful to have had support for it from colleagues across the House.

[Laura Trott]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I congratulate him on his brilliant Bill, which will help women, the lowest paid and part-time workers in Stoke-on- Trent, Kidsgrove and Talke, and beyond.

Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Bill

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Friday 3rd March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mims Davies]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that point, particularly as we approach International Women’s Day. My hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby spoke about the same issue. The Domestic Abuse Act brings children into scope, which is incredibly important. We know that abuse affects not just partners but whole families. I spent a very brief time as Minister responsible for safeguarding, but I would like to use this opportunity at the Dispatch Box to say that this is about criminality in the home. It is not acceptable, and it is not the way people should be behaving. We will make sure that these processes work for all types of families, who are very often in the most complex scenarios. Ultimately, using finance or any other form of weaponisation is absolutely wrong and abhorrent. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cities of London and Westminster (Nickie Aiken) for making that important point.

The hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Vicky Foxcroft) mentioned the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips), whom I have met and engaged with strongly. I have taken on board all her points about control and about training, and I will cover some of them in my remarks, if I may.

I fully agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Simon Fell) and join him in paying tribute to the third sector organisations that do so much in this space: they advise us on policy and insight and have been extremely helpful with the Bill. I thank my hon. Friend the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work for his excellent contribution on Second Reading. I also thank my noble Friend Viscount Younger of Leckie, who has recently taken over day-to-day ministerial responsibility for the Child Maintenance Service. I work extremely strongly with him, and I know that he is fully committed to supporting the Bill’s important measures in the other place. I am grateful to all hon. Members who spoke in Committee and have helped to shape the Bill. I very much appreciate their important insights.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

I want to put on the record my congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Sally-Ann Hart) on the incredible work she has done to get this important piece of legislation to this stage.

I join the Minister and my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Simon Fell) in speaking about the third sector. There is a fantastic Stoke-on-Trent North resident called Laura Carter, who runs what was originally Mums of Stoke and is now Women of Stoke. She does incredible work helping women who are fleeing domestic violence to set up new homes and gathering donations of basic things, such as food, as well as beds, furniture and uniforms for children. I was formerly a teacher for eight and a half years and worked on safeguarding as a head of year. Does the Minister agree that it is absolutely disgusting that children are used as a weapon or tool to coercively control women, which is totally unfair and unnecessary, and that, as well as people who do that having to pay their fair share, we should use the legislation we have passed in the House to throw the rulebook at them and, where necessary, put them in jail?

[Mims Davies]

My hon. Friend characteristically highlights what is at the heart of what we see in many of our constituency meetings. As the daughter of a women from Stoke-on-Trent, I absolutely agree and thank him for giving a voice to his constituents and our communities, which is incredibly important.

I reiterate that the Government take domestic abuse extremely seriously. We have acted on this issue in a way that no Government have before. The CMS is fully committed to providing the right support and ensuring that it is safe for people to use the service. It seeks to tackle any stigma of what the Child Maintenance Service is about and how it can support people. I take this opportunity to remind people that domestic abuse can take many forms. Whether it is physical, emotional or financial abuse, violent or threatening behaviour or coercive control, the CMS has the procedures in place to ensure that cases are handled appropriately, whatever the circumstances. I hope the hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford will understand that, and I will outline how we have moved some of those processes on.

For customers using the direct pay service, the CMS can act as an intermediary to facilitate the exchange of bank details to ensure that there is no unwanted contact between parents and that no personal information is shared, which is important. CMS caseworkers also provide information on how to set up bank accounts with a centralised sort code, which reduces the risk of a parent’s location being traced. I am aware that, in complex scenarios, people will be worried about sharing information. We need them to feel safe, so that children can be supported by their parents. The application fee is waived for survivors of domestic abuse, and CMS caseworkers will signpost people where necessary to suitable domestic abuse support organisations, which we have heard about today.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye said, throughout this Bill’s passage hon. Members have been keen to see the publication of the independent review of the ways in which the CMS supports victims of domestic abuse. I am pleased that it was published alongside the Government’s response and recommendations on 17 January. I was involved in those responses and the engagement with the third sector and stakeholders. Dr Samantha Callan has done a remarkably positive job in sharing the review’s recommendations as part of that publication.

As hon. Members will have seen, the independent review found that the CMS has worked hard to develop and improve its domestic abuse practices. Since that review was undertaken by Dr Callan, the CMS has implemented new domestic abuse training measures, including mandatory training for CMS staff on how to respond to domestic abuse cases, ensuring that its caseworkers are well equipped to support parents in those vulnerable situations. The training enables caseworkers to understand how domestic abuse can take various forms—physical, financial, emotional and psychological —so that the CMS can signpost customers to appropriate support such as domestic abuse advocacy groups and, if necessary, advise on contacting the police. Where parents do not feel able to do this, caseworkers will ask whether they are content for them to call the police on their behalf.

The CMS has also implemented a new call script that directly asks about abuse and signposts customers to very specific advice and, importantly, expertise. CMS caseworkers also have a complex needs toolkit, which includes clear steps to follow in order to support customers who are experiencing abuse. This toolkit is regularly reviewed and strengthened using customer insight. Again, the Minister in the other place and I are taking a clear interest in how the toolkit works.

However, as the review points out, there are further steps that the CMS can take. The Government have rightly accepted eight of the review’s 10 recommendations, and we are strongly committed to taking them forward and reviewing the training to ensure that it remains up to date and, most importantly, aligned with best practice.

I spoke earlier about the Ask for ANI pilot roll-out and extension, alongside our J9 interventions through Jobcentre Plus. I reiterate that, in the light of today’s amendments, the Department of Health in Northern Ireland has made pharmacies aware of the Ask for ANI scheme, too. Four jobs and benefits offices in the Department for Communities are also offering Ask for ANI support. Wherever people need help, there is a way for them to get support, which is important.

Dr Callan’s report also includes recommendations to enable cases to be moved to collect and pay where there is evidence of domestic abuse, which is precisely what this Bill aims to do. The Bill also amends primary legislation to allow for a parent or child in Scotland to request collect and pay on the grounds of domestic abuse where there is evidence of abuse against them or, indeed, against children in the household.

To get these proposals right, to target the right parents appropriately and to make sure we have the right evidence of domestic abuse, we will table secondary legislation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Monday 23rd January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Tom Pursglove]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising this issue. It is fair to say that Ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions meet Ministers in the Department of Health and Social Care and across Government. We are in the process of appointing the new ministerial disability champions to take a lead on taking deep dives into particular issues. I am really happy to take that one away to raise with DHSC colleagues.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

The people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke would like to ask when the Minister for Pensions is going to act on the recommendations of the 2017 automatic enrolment review to lower the age threshold for automatic enrolment from 22 to 18, and to remove the lower limit of the qualifying earnings band, so that contributions are paid from the first pound earned.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Laura Trott)]

Automatic enrolment has been a huge success. I know that my hon. Friend does a huge amount of campaigning on this, and we remain committed to implementing the 2017 reforms in the mid-2020s.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Monday 21st March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

10. What steps her Department is taking to support pensioners to manage the increase in the cost of living.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

12. What steps she is taking to help support pensioners with the cost of living.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

20. What steps she is taking to help support pensioners with the cost of living.

--- Later in debate ---

[Guy Opperman]

With respect, there are 200,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty, both before and after housing costs, than in 2009-10. [Interruption.] With respect, the statistics are correct. The hon. Gentleman will recall, as a Labour Member of Parliament, that when the Government changed in 2010, the state pension was barely £100; the new state pension will be over £185 this coming year. It has risen by £2,300 in cash terms over the last eight years.

[Jonathan Gullis]

Claiming pension credit is a passport to a variety of other benefits for elderly residents in Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, so could my hon. Friend advise local people what support becomes available to them if they submit a valid claim for pension credit?

[Jonathan Ashworth]

Have you written to the local paper?

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Coffey]

The hon. Lady raises an important point. I am confident that my Department and officials will undertake their duties carefully and considerately. I am conscious that there will be times when things go wrong and that sometimes the Department will be brought into local investigations, usually by social services. It is important that we respond to that, as well as to the ongoing lessons that we learn from broader themes that we investigate through the Serious Case Panel.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

I thank the Minister for the phone call last week about the DWP closure and the potential for more than 200 job losses in Stoke-on-Trent—she rightly understands the concern of local residents. Although it is totally irresponsible of the Public and Commercial Services Union to brief before local employees were spoken to, it is vital that we make sure we retain these types of jobs in Stoke-on-Trent, where we know that the average salary is below the weekly average of the rest of the UK and that unemployment is higher than the UK average. What can she do to keep as many of those jobs in the city and work with the local authority to find a new hub within Stoke-on-Trent?

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Monday 13th September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

My hon. Friend is right to raise that issue. The warm home discount is administered through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in conjunction with the energy companies, although the DWP does, in effect, facilitate the automatic claiming of that for a number of benefit claimants. I will share his concerns about the potential mismatch with prepayment customers with the relevant Minister, who I hope will respond to him directly.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that our economy is beginning to show signs of recovery, with unemployment down and record high job vacancies? In Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, Steelite International, a global ceramics manufacturer, has a jobs fair for more than 100 vacancies. Does she agree that that is the way to help people on universal credit into work and get them out of poverty?

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Monday 30th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

I know that the Pensions Minister—the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman)—will be delighted to meet my hon. Friend and to look at this matter. We take this absolutely seriously, in terms of wanting people to get the benefits to which they are entitled, and I am sure that he, as a very diligent local MP, will be able to use every lever that he has to improve the prospects of his constituents.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

The £170 million winter support package recently announced by my right hon. Friend will be a lifeline for families hardest hit by covid-19 in Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, so will she ensure that community groups like the pop-up pantry in Chell and the Salvation Armies in Smallthorne, Kidsgrove and Tunstall get the support they need in order to support the most vulnerable in my community?

[Will Quince]

Our £170 million covid winter grant scheme will enable local authorities to support vulnerable households this winter with food and key utilities. As the Secretary of State has made clear, there are conditions, but I would certainly encourage local authorities to work with partners on the ground, making sure that this support reaches people across our communities.