Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Karen Lee and Caroline Dinenage

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

Sanctions are applied only as a very last resort and there are mitigations in place to support people when this is done. The hon. Lady is wrong to say that people in work are more likely to be in poverty; a key driver of in-work poverty is the part-time work that people were trapped in when her party was in government—people were trapped working fewer than 16 hours a week. The Labour Government were literally paying them to stay poor, whereas our reforms are about supporting people to progress in work and keep more of the extra money that they earn.

[Ms Karen Lee (Lincoln) (Lab)]

6. If he will make an assessment of the effect of the length of waiting time to receive universal credit on levels of food bank usage.