Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Thursday 21st March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

It was a pleasure to attend the meeting at Fishburn Community Hall, meet the local residents and councillors, be offered a pancake on Shrove Tuesday and discuss bus services and bus funding. I have to say that there is no doubt whatever that the improvement of the X21, in particular taking residents and workers into Newton Aycliffe and Darlington, seems to be utterly sensible, and I will continue to support my hon. Friend’s campaign and meet again with Arriva to ensure that it happens for the people of Fishburn and Trimdon.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Thursday 8th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

I would not refer to regulations written in 2020 and updated in 2023 as written in the time of coaches and horses—perhaps the hon. Gentleman should check his history. On the Uber case that he rightly identifies, that is clearly a court case that the Government have to address and will therefore consult on thereafter.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

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[Guy Opperman]

Clearly, that we are to have a regional Mayor for the North East is good news, but I did not think the hon. Lady would be celebrating the fact that she has a disastrous police and crime commissioner as her candidate and that the previously Labour Metro Mayor of North of Tyne is now running as an independent against the Labour party. However, it is without a shadow of a doubt the

“best-funded devolution deal in the country.”

Those are not my words, but those of the previously Labour Mayor. I genuinely believe we are building back better post covid, with enhanced bus company usage in circumstances where the £2 bus fare is making a huge difference.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

Rural Transport

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Monday 8th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

I will move on. The—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. One of us is going to sit down, and it will certainly not be me. Minister, it is a bit naughty to mention the Member while he is here but then not allow him to come back. You take him personally to task, which is not a problem, but then when he stands up you want to move on, which I think is a bit unfair. Minister, it is up to you.

[Guy Opperman]

Mr Speaker, with respect, I was going to allow the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton to intervene. I have a lot of Members to deal with and I was going to address pothole funding first, but I will of course allow him to respond.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Monday 13th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

With no disrespect to the hon. Gentleman, we have committed to that, which is why there is the £900 further cost of living payment, a doubling of the winter fuel payment and the highest state pension we have ever had. This Government are passionately supporting our pensioners and our most vulnerable on an ongoing basis.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

--- Later in debate ---

[Guy Opperman]

I think the clue is in the name: it was a temporary jobcentre during covid. I am happy that the specific Minister will write and further explain the situation.

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to topicals.

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[The Minister for Employment (Guy Opperman)]

My hon. Friend is a doughty champion for Kettering. He will be aware that 20.9% of working-age people are inactive, down 0.7 percentage points from last year and down 2.7 percentage points from 2010, showing that our drive to get more people into jobs is paying off. The UK now has a lower inactivity rate than the US, France and Italy. We are doing more every single day, but we are also aware that there is more to do.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Monday 4th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

The Government are committed to a sustainable long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on low incomes. We will spend around £276 billion through the welfare system in 2023-24, including around £124 billion on people of working age and children.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Monday 5th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

The hon. Lady may not know, but I lost twin boys and fully understand the difficulties her constituent faces in terms of bereavement. It is clearly the case that there are the run-on provisions, but I would happy to sit down with her to explain the run-on provisions and the extent to which there is ongoing support for the bereaved.

[Mr Speaker]

Karl MᶜCartney is obviously not here. Can the Secretary of State answer as though he is present?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Monday 11th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

The hon. Member will be aware that, by reason of the pension credit awareness campaign from April and in particular the pension credit day of action on 15 June, the numbers for pension credit have massively increased—by well over 275% for that period. He will also be aware that there is a huge effort being made to ensure that pension credit take-up increases. I ask all hon. Members please to encourage their communities to apply. Finally, he will also be aware that pension credit is retrospective, so people have until 24 August to apply and still be entitled to the £650 cost of living payment that this Government will be making from Thursday.

[Mr Speaker]

I call shadow Minister Matt Rodda.

[Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)]

Following the resignation of the Prime Minister, there is a real risk that the House turns in on itself. I want to draw the Minister’s attention to the serious cost of living crisis facing families and pensioners in this country. Sadly, the Government broke their promise to keep the triple lock on the state pension at the very time that inflation was starting to rise. As a result, pensioners struggling to get by have each lost more than £500 this year. How can the Minister possibly justify letting down pensioners in this way?

[Guy Opperman]

I was the Minister who saw that the Labour party at the time did not object to our taking the actions we did in respect of the triple lock. The hon. Gentleman talks about a loss but, as he knows, the state pension was less than £100 in 2009, before the Government changed in 2010. He also knows that we have now virtually doubled the state pension and that there is in excess of £1,500 extra money going to pensioners this year, by reason of the winter fuel payment, the cost of living support for those who are most vulnerable, the council tax rebate worth £150 and the energy support fund, which arrives on or around 1 October.

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to SNP spokesperson, Alan Brown.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Speaker]

Minister, can you pick something out of that?

[Guy Opperman]

This matter will be dealt with by an urgent question that follows. I can confirm it definitely does not apply to me, and frankly I do not think it is an appropriate question for today.

--- Later in debate ---

[Guy Opperman]

The uptake of pension credit is clearly to be applauded, and I sincerely hope that the hon. Lady was behind the pension credit day of action and is behind the messages that we are all trying to put out. That is not all, however. On Thursday we will make the £326 cost of living payment, which will drop £1 million in payments every single working day, and there will be a further £324 payment in the autumn. We are also providing the energy support grant of £400, which will go to every individual in the country, as well as the £300 winter fuel payment, the council tax rebate, and various other household support grants. All those are available to individuals up and down the country, and will also support pensioners.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. If there are no further questions, I will suspend the sitting for two minutes.

Sitting suspended.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Monday 6th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

I will be delighted to join my hon. Friend at his older persons fair, which is one example of how we want to promote the take-up of pension credit. I was pleased today to meet a group of stakeholders, ranging from Citizens Advice to Independent Age, the BBC, ITV, local authorities and utility companies, all of which are trying to work collectively to promote pension credit take-up. As we know, pension credit is a £3,000-plus benefit to the most venerable in our society, and it is particularly important that they claim it this winter.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Sir Stephen Timms, Chairman of the Select Committee, whom I congratulate on his knighthood.

--- Later in debate ---

[Guy Opperman]

Answer that one! The truth is that, in respect of the 2017 auto-enrolment review and the changes that my hon. Friend sought in his outstanding ten-minute rule Bill and the private Member’s Bill we did not get to debate before the close of the last parliamentary Session, he knows he has my full support. The matter will be brought before the House as soon as possible.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister, Matt Rodda.

[Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)]

The cost of living crisis is leaving families and pensioners wondering how on earth they will make ends meet. Inflation is running at 11% for everyday goods, and petrol is now nearly £2 a litre, yet the Government’s response has favoured the wealthier while failing those in greatest need. Will the Minister explain why second home owners were offered extra help while at the very same time the Government have yet to drive up the take-up of pension credit? Will he also now publish the advice he received from his own civil servants that warned of the effect of this deeply unfair policy?

[Guy Opperman]

I do not believe that £37 billion of support should be sneered at. The Chancellor set out £22 billion of support in the spring and a further £15 billion of support last month; that includes £650 on top of the pension credit from July, and the winter fuel payment of £300 going to 8.2 million households. I strongly believe that shows that the Government are taking serious action to support the most vulnerable.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson, Alan Brown.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Guy Opperman)]

Obviously, there is the Government site—gov.uk—and the phone number 0800 99 1234. More particularly, I today met Citizens Advice, Age UK and various other pensioner charities that would be very keen to assist on an ongoing basis. I must very strongly recommend my hon. Friend to get behind the pension credit awareness day, which takes place on Wednesday 15 June. Obviously his local authority, Essex County Council, has a role to play, as do all local authorities, because it has the data that can identify specific individuals who could apply for but do not have pension credit.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Monday 21st March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

Rumours had reached me of the Kettering older persons fair, which I believe is taking place on Friday 1 July. All roads lead to Kettering on that occasion. I would be honoured and privileged to attend to support my hon. Friend, who is a doughty champion of his constituency, and all the good charities, such as Age UK and Citizens Advice, that are working hard to get those numbers up, which is what we all want to do.

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to the Chair of the Select Committee Stephen Timms.

--- Later in debate ---

[Guy Opperman]

I know that the Secretary of State loved her trip to Blackpool and I congratulate my hon. Friend on his jobs fair, which I gather was a great success. He is a great champion for Blackpool and for the elderly residents in his community, and he is a big improvement on his predecessor. I am delighted to say that I wrote to the Blackpool Gazette this morning to set out in more detail how we are trying to get more people to take up pension credit, and it is definitely the case that we are doing that.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I do not think it is becoming of anybody to condemn a Member of Parliament who has not been here for a long, long time. I do not really want to get into that, so we should think about what we say in future.

--- Later in debate ---

[Guy Opperman]

Again, all roads lead to Crawley, and quite right too. I would be delighted to attend my hon. Friend’s older persons fair in the summer or the autumn. It is definitely the case that there is a larger take-up of pension credits on an ongoing basis, and that is something we want to see going forward.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister, Matt Rodda.

[Matt Rodda (Reading East) (Lab)]

Pensioners who have worked hard and paid in all their lives face an absolutely enormous increase in the cost of living. Food prices are up, the cost of heating is going up and the cost of living as a whole is going up. This huge increase in inflation was clear before the invasion of Ukraine and it is crystal clear now, yet so far the Government have only come up with a buy-now-pay-later scheme for heating bills, so I would like to ask the Minister: just when will the Government start listening to pensioners and when exactly will they show even a shred of understanding of the dreadful situation facing our pensioners at this time?

[Guy Opperman]

The hon. Member will be aware that we raised state pension by 2.5% this year, when we did not need to do so, and it is going up by 3.1% in April, on top of which there is the support from the Chancellor with the £9 billion scheme set out only a few weeks ago. He will also be aware that huge efforts are being made to ensure there is take-up of the support benefits, which definitely assist. There is over £5 billion of them, but we want much more to be taken up.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson, Alan Brown.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Guy Opperman)]

The Government are wholly committed to alleviating levels of pensioner poverty. State pensions are at record levels, pension credit take-up is increasing, and we are taking a number of other steps to provide assistance. On the day of the launch of the spring booster, I should also stress the need for all pensioners, residents of care homes, and those like me and, I think, you, Mr Speaker, who are immunocompromised to get that booster jab. It is vital for everyone’s welfare.

[Mr Speaker]

The Minister is correct. Let us get people jabbed!

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Monday 13th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Guy Opperman)]

We are doing a huge amount to increase the take-up of pension credit. I have met repeatedly with the BBC, and we have set up a pension credit taskforce which involves energy companies, the Local Government Association, various banks, BT and others. The reality is that pension credit take-up is increasing. It is also the case that we have never spent as much money on pensioners as we do now—up to £129 billion, of which the state pension is £105 billion—and pension credit is the highest it has ever been.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Jane Hunt. Not here.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Monday 8th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

Obviously, the hon. Gentleman did not listen to my earlier answer. This matter was addressed by the end of October. The reality of the situation is that the pandemic has caused delays to state pensions, with issues relating to illness, self-isolation, caring, training, location, staffing, equipment, recruiting. I could go on, but these matters are being addressed.

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to the SNP spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Wednesday 22nd September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

The Government are doing huge amounts to tackle the gender pensions gap. Automatic enrolment is transforming the situation. Women used to be at 38%; they are now at more than 80% of savings on an ongoing basis.

[Mr Speaker]

Before we come to Prime Minister’s questions, I would like to point out that the British Sign Language interpretation of proceedings is available to watch on Parliamentlive.tv.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Wednesday 7th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Minister, make what you can of that.

[Guy Opperman]

I am happy to write to the hon. Lady through the Department when she gives me a more detailed version. I can just answer that we have 500 kickstart jobs per day, and from 20 locations—from Bradford to Barnet, Glasgow to Leicester, and Manchester to her own Ealing community—jobcentres are specifically helping BAME people.

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[Guy Opperman]

I wholeheartedly reject the comment by the hon. Gentleman. The state pension has gone up dramatically under the triple lock—by £2,000 since 2010 —by the coalition and Conservative Governments. We have a system that is taking forward real change and making a real difference to state pensioners.

[Mr Speaker]

Before we come to Prime Minister’s questions, I would like to point out that the British Sign Language interpretation of proceedings is available to watch on parliamentlive.tv.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lindsay Hoyle and Guy Opperman

Monday 29th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Guy Opperman) [V]]

I congratulate my hon. and gallant Friend on his outstanding maiden speech last week, for which credit is due. The Government are committed to ensuring that older people are able to live with the dignity—[Inaudible.]

[Mr Speaker]

Would somebody step in, please, and answer the question?