Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Laura Trott and Samantha Dixon

Tuesday 19th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Laura Trott]

All I can say is that they have definitely gone in the right direction, because the economy next year will be billions of pounds bigger than we thought it was going to be in March.

[Samantha Dixon (City of Chester) (Lab)]

15. What steps he is taking to ensure value for money in public spending.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Laura Trott)]

Value for money is at the heart of Government spending and it is one of the key considerations for any decision involving the use of public funds across Government. As Chief Secretary, I am committed to tackling waste and promoting productivity across the public sector.

[Samantha Dixon]

Last year, Government officials admitted that they were paying companies to burn and destroy 15,000 pallets of unusable personal protective equipment each month. Does the Treasury have any idea how much wasted PPE has gone up in smoke this year?

[Laura Trott]

During the pandemic our priority was absolutely clear: to get PPE to the frontline as quickly as possible. There was an unprecedented global increase in demand for PPE during the emergency response to the pandemic and items were procured at pace. The Department of Health and Social Care continues to seek to recover fraud losses to ensure that public funds are protected.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Laura Trott and Samantha Dixon

Monday 4th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Samantha Dixon (City of Chester) (Lab)]

13. What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of trends in the level of (a) inflation and (b) food prices on pensioners’ incomes.

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

In April, the state pension saw its largest ever rise of 10.1%, thanks to the triple lock protecting pensioners.

[Laura Trott]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for the work he is doing in his constituency. I assure him that that is exactly what the Government are doing. We recently launched an “invitation to claim” trial, which has been rolled out in 10 constituencies and is using housing benefit data to target those who might also be eligible for pension credit. We will report back on the results of that trial later this year.

[Samantha Dixon]

It might be hard to imagine on a sunny day like today, but winter is just around the corner. The reality for many worried pensioners in my constituency is that this winter there will be a choice between heating and eating. We have a Government who are tiptoeing around the real issues while our constituents struggle to make ends meet. When will the Government make a real plan to tackle the cost of living crisis and implement meaningful action to help thousands of pensioners in poverty?

[Laura Trott]

With respect to the hon. Lady, that is exactly what we are doing. That is why we have put the cost of living payments in place, which are worth £900 to all those on pension credit, and why a cost of living pensioner payment worth £300 is coming out in the winter. All the while the Labour Mayor of London is charging pensioners £12.50 when they want to drive to the hospital.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Laura Trott and Samantha Dixon

Monday 24th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Samantha Dixon (City of Chester) (Lab)]

21. What recent estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in poverty.

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

In 2022, there were 200,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty than in 2010.

--- Later in debate ---

[Laura Trott]

We challenge those figures, as the hon. Lady knows. I point her to the record increase in state pension that we have just introduced—10.1% for both the state pension and pension credit. That will make a real difference to pensioner poverty levels, alongside the cost of living payments that are going out this year—£900 for pensioners on pension credit and £300 for all pensioner households.

[Samantha Dixon]

Two weeks ago I visited West Cheshire Foodbank in my constituency, where volunteers told me that for the first time a couple who were both pensioners had turned up in tears because they could not afford the cost of living and the basics. The Government have failed to fix the issues with pension credit uptake, with over a third of those entitled not claiming. Given that there are 400,000 more pensioners in poverty today than when Labour left office, why should the pensioners forced to visit the food bank in Chester trust a Government who have repeatedly let them down?

[Laura Trott]

I am sorry to hear about the pensioners involved. If they are eligible for pension credit and not claiming, I assume the hon. Lady is helping them. As a Department we are happy to give any assistance to those individuals. We are doing all we can to boost pension credit uptake. There was a campaign before Christmas, which I am sure she was part of, to get people to claim the cost of living payment, which we will repeat this year. We saw a 177% increase in claims just before Christmas. There will also be the pension credit week of action for the summer on 12 to 16 June, which I hope many hon. Members will take part in.