Tackling Child Poverty
Liz Kendall Excerpts(3 days ago)
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The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)
Today, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Houghton and Sunderland South (Bridget Phillipson) and I are pleased to announce that we are publishing, “Tackling Child Poverty: Developing Our Strategy”.
Since 2010, child poverty has increased by 700,000, with over 4 million children living in poverty in the UK, and 800,000 children using food banks to eat. This is a scar on our society, which holds back children’s life chances and damages our country’s prospects. Breaking the link between background and success in life is at the heart of our opportunity and growth missions.
The Prime Minister has tasked us to develop an ambitious child poverty strategy which will be published in spring 2025. This is a shared endeavour across all parts of the UK, and we can learn from action being taken in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Our Government will tackle overall child poverty, assessed by the leading and internationally recognised measure of poverty, but also go beyond that to focus on children in deepest poverty lacking essentials, and what is needed to give every child the best start in life.
Today, our publication sets out how we will develop the strategy which will harness all available levers to deliver a reduction in child poverty this Parliament as part of an ambitious 10-year strategy which addresses root causes including:
Supporting households to increase their income, including considering social security reforms that support people into work and alleviate poverty.
Helping to bring down essential household costs.
Increasing financial resilience by tackling problem debt and helping families manage financial shocks through savings and affordable credit.
Alleviating the negative experience of living in poverty, including through supporting families and the role of public services.
Over the coming months, the child poverty taskforce will hear directly from experts on each of the strategy’s themes including children and families living in poverty and work with leading organisations, charities, and campaigners.
In October, we have invited partners in industry, regulation and the charity sector to share evidence and ideas on options to reduce essential costs for low-income families.
In November, employers, trade unions and think tanks will be invited to discuss options to increase incomes and financial resilience in low-income households.
In December, experts on children’s health, early years and education and representatives from civil society will be invited to share experience and expertise on ensuring low-income families are able to access quality services to tackle the impacts of poverty.
Ministers will take part in engagement events across the nations and regions of the UK, bringing together a diverse range of voices. A new forum of parents and carers living across the UK will be set up to ensure the experiences of children in poverty, including disabled children and those with special educational needs, are included. They will feed directly into the strategy.
Living in poverty not only harms children’s lives now, it damages their future prospects and holds back our country. Children living in poverty are denied the opportunities that should enable them to achieve and thrive. And Britain cannot see maximum economic growth when the talents of so many children are being lost. Our ambitious child poverty strategy will reduce child poverty, tackle the root causes, and give every child the best start in life.
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Carer’s Allowance Overpayments: Independent Review
Liz Kendall Excerpts(1 week, 3 days ago)
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The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)
I would like to advise the House of my intention to bring forward an independent review into the issue of overpayments of carer’s allowance, in cases where earnings have exceeded the entitlement threshold.
Many unpaid carers have been pushed to breaking point looking after the people they love. It is essential that we provide eligible carers with the support they need at the time they need it. This includes support for carers on low incomes through universal credit, and for all unpaid carers through carer’s allowance.
The review will investigate how overpayments of carer’s allowance have occurred, what can best be done to support those who have accrued them, and how to reduce the risk of these problems occurring in future. I am delighted to announce that Liz Sayce OBE has agreed to lead the review.
The independent review will focus on quickly gripping the issue of carer’s allowance overpayments.
Carer’s allowance is a devolved matter in Scotland, and a transferred one in Northern Ireland. The review will therefore cover England and Wales, but we will discuss with the Scottish Government the position with respect to people in Scotland who are or have been receiving carer’s allowance while DWP has been delivering it there on behalf of the Scottish Ministers.
Further details on the timelines for the review and terms of reference will be published in due course and a copy placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
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Fraud, Error and Debt Bill
Liz Kendall Excerpts(2 weeks, 4 days ago)
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The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)
I would like to advise the House that the Government will bring forward a new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill in this Parliamentary session to be tough on criminals, fair for claimants and provide confidence to the taxpayer.
Fraud and error in the social security system currently costs the taxpayer almost £10 billion a year and, since the pandemic, a total of £35 billion of taxpayers’ money has been incorrectly paid to those not entitled to the money—including to criminal gangs. Just as we do not tolerate tax evasion, this Government will not tolerate those who defraud the social security system. We will ensure that every pound of taxpayers’ money is spent with the same care with which working people spend their own money.
The measures in this Bill are expected to save up to £1.6 billion over the next five years and will extend and modernise the DWP’s powers to stop fraud in its tracks, recover money lost to fraud and, crucially, help protect claimants who may already be on the edge financially from racking up debt.
The Government are determined to prevent incorrect payments where we can, so the DWP will be given new powers to better identify and prevent potential overpayments. These will help officials to ensure eligibility criteria are being met—including being able to see sooner where they are not—which will mean fewer claimants accruing debts and getting into financial difficulty. This will also serve to ensure every claimant is treated fairly.
We will ensure that these powers are proportionate. We will introduce safeguarding, reporting mechanisms and independent oversight, to give greater confidence to claimants that the powers are being used fairly and effectively. DWP staff will receive training on the use of any new powers. We will rely on codes of practice where they already exist and, where they do not, we will consult on and produce new codes of practice to provide further reassurance on the safe use of the powers.
Some of the DWP’s fraud powers have not been updated for over 20 years and we are currently misaligned with other Government Departments and public bodies such as HMRC.
The measures in this Bill will remedy that, giving the DWP powers to:
Better investigate suspected fraud and new powers of search and seizure, so the DWP can take greater control of investigations into criminal gangs defrauding the taxpayer.
Make changes to the penalties system, so that no one found to have committed fraud against the social security system avoids punishment, bringing increased fairness for claimants who do the right thing.
Allow the DWP to recover debts from individuals who can pay money back but have avoided doing so, bringing greater fairness to debt recoveries.
Through our eligibility verification measure, require banks and financial institutions to examine their own datasets to highlight where someone may not be eligible for the benefits they are being paid. This will help the DWP identify incorrect payments, prevent debts from accruing for the claimant and help identify where there may be fraudulent activity. Banks will only share very minimal information, and this will only be used by the DWP to support further inquiry, if needed, into a potential overpayment.
The powers in this Bill will be legal, proportionate and targeted to reduce overpayments, detect and prevent fraud, ensure prompter investigations and bring greater fairness to the system.
The eligibility verification measure will not give the DWP access to any bank accounts, nor any information on how claimants spend their money. The proposed new power instead helps verify benefit eligibility, using very limited information from banks and financial institutions. A human being will always be involved in any investigations and any decisions taken afterwards that affect eligibility or benefit awards, as they do now. This measure will not be used on the state pension.
This legislation will support the delivery of the Government’s manifesto commitment to safeguard taxpayers’ money and demonstrates the Government’s commitment that they will not tolerate fraud or waste anywhere in public services, including the social security system.
Further details on the legislation will be set out when the Bill is introduced to Parliament shortly.
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Oral Answers to Questions
Liz Kendall Excerpts(2 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)
May I say briefly, Mr Speaker, that as my right hon. and learned Friend the Prime Minister has said, 7 October last year was the deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust, and we stand firm in our commitment to bring the remaining hostages home and secure the immediate ceasefire and aid that civilians in Gaza and Lebanon desperately need.
An estimated 880,000 of the poorest pensioners are not claiming the pension credit they are entitled to, so they do not get the winter fuel payment or pension credit of up to £3,900 a year. That is why we have launched the biggest ever drive to increase pension credit uptake and ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they deserve.
Ben Obese-Jecty
Having spent the run-up to the election scaring pensioners into voting for them by claiming it was the Conservative Government who were a threat to their wellbeing, some of our poorest pensioners will now be forced to find out how difficult it is to keep warm huddled around Labour’s gaslight. Given that the Government’s own equality analysis states that only 100,000 of the 880,000 pensioners who are eligible for pension credit are expected to apply for it, if all those who are eligible do apply, how much more will that cost compared with the initial saving from removing the winter fuel payment?
Liz Kendall
I say gently to the hon. Gentleman that upon coming into government, we discovered that 880,000 pensioners are not claiming the pension credit they are entitled to. Given that his former Government failed to take action to deal with that issue, I suggest that instead of making that point, he works with his council to increase pension credit uptake and looks at the £1.8 million we have given to Peterborough council to make sure that all the help for pensioners, including on winter fuel, is made available.
Wendy Morton
I remain deeply concerned about the pensioners in my constituency who will not be entitled to the winter fuel payment this winter—we are now into October. Given that we now know that just 14% of pensioners in absolute poverty receive pension credit, how can the Minister justify her Government’s claim that they are focusing support on those in the greatest need?
Liz Kendall
Again, I say to the right hon. Lady that the reason so many of the poorest pensioners are missing out is that her Government failed to increase pension credit uptake. We have launched the biggest ever programme to increase uptake of pension credit. For the first time, we will be writing to all pensioners on housing benefit, and I urge the right hon. Lady to work with her local council and others to make sure that the poorest in her constituency get the money they are entitled to.
Gregory Stafford
Over 18,000 people in my constituency will lose the winter fuel payment, but this is not about figures; it is about individuals, which is why I am running a pensioners advisory service on Friday to help them with this issue. This is about people, so what does the Secretary of State say to people such as Rita in my constituency, who is looking after her husband who has multiple sclerosis and who will not be eligible for pension credit and therefore the winter fuel payment?
Liz Kendall
I know that the hon. Gentleman has focused over many years on health and healthcare issues, and I would say to him that we are in this situation because his Government left a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. Unlike Conservative Members, we take our responsibilities seriously, and I would urge him to work with his councils—they have received £7.1 million in Hampshire and £5.3 million in Surrey from the household support fund—to make sure that all pensioners get the money they are entitled to.
Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)
I welcome the work that my right hon. Friend is doing in ensuring that the uptake of pension credit is increased, but there are genuine concerns about people who are just above that threshold who will remain in poverty—just under a quarter of a million in the north-west alone. In addition to the fantastic commitment there has been through the household support fund, will my right hon. Friend be undertaking any other mitigations to ensure that those pensioners living in poverty, particularly disabled pensioners, will not fall foul of this?
Liz Kendall
I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and I welcome her to her position as Chair of the Select Committee. Alongside our work to increase pension credit uptake, the household support fund is available for those just above the pension credit level. My own council has done a lot of work to make sure that pensioners just above that level can get extra help with the costs of heating or energy debt. There is also the warm home discount, which is available not just to those on pension credit, but again to those just above that level if they are on low incomes and have high housing costs.
Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
I congratulate the Secretary of State on her ambition to sign people up to pension credit, but we know that about 780,000 people will not sign up in time and also that there are 1 million people in fuel poverty above that mark. Given that we are really worried now, as winter is approaching, about the impact that this is going to have, particularly on the health of older people, will she look at the work done by Energy Systems Catapult and NHS Gloucestershire on social prescribing to ensure that people can receive energy payments in that way?
Liz Kendall
My hon. Friend raises a very important point. This is not just about urging people to come forward and claim. We are writing to pensioners on housing benefit for the first time ever, and I am determined to bring forward the merger of housing benefit and pension credit, which the former Government delayed for years. I very much agree about the need to bring together social prescribing with help from the household support fund and other areas to make sure pensioners get all the help they need, and about the need to work with frontline NHS staff, as we are also doing, to make sure that the poorest who may be stuck at home with chronic conditions also know what they are entitled to.
Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)
It is clear that one of the drivers of pensioner poverty is the sheer number of pensioners eligible for pension credit who have been left not claiming it for successive years by the previous Government. I welcome the Secretary of State’s zeal for making sure that we put that right, but how can we as Members from across the House work with her Department to make sure that there are no unnecessary barriers for those who are eligible and in need of pension credit to claiming it this winter?
Liz Kendall
I would urge all hon. Members in this House to work with their local councils, as I am doing, to make sure that those on housing benefit and other pensioners know what they are entitled to, and to make sure that their councils know that the household support fund—the £421 million we have set aside this year, despite all the problems we face—is also available to those pensioners just above the pension credit level.
Liz Kendall
In 2017, the right hon. Gentleman’s party manifesto promised to means-test winter fuel payments. Until Conservative Members know that they have to apologise to the British people for the 200,000 extra pensioners in poverty over the past 14 years, and for a £22 billion black hole in the public finances, which we are now putting right but that has put the public finances at risk, they will remain on the Opposition Benches and we will remain on the Government Benches.
Mel Stride
I think I need to correct the right hon. Lady: there were actually 200,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty under the previous Conservative Government. She quite rightly is pressing the uptake of pension credit, but if all those who are eligible for it take it up, that will cost £3.8 billion, which is substantially more than the saving that is scored at £1.4 billion. If she is successful in her aspiration, the costs will substantially outweigh the savings; if she is not successful, potentially millions of pensioners will be plunged further into poverty. May I ask her which it is?
Liz Kendall
There are 200,000 more pensioners in poverty, and I am happy to put those figures into the public domain to set the record straight. The savings we have put forward take into account the increase in uptake that we foresee. Unlike Conservative Members, we are determined and will do everything possible—they should perhaps ask themselves why they first announced the merger of pension credit and housing benefit in 2012 and then put it off until 2028—to change things and get people the money they are entitled to. We will bring that forward to ensure that all the poorest pensioners get what they are entitled to.
Steve Darling (Torbay) (LD)
There are 2.7 million pensioners over the age of 80 who would have benefited from the £300 winter fuel allowance. They are among the most vulnerable in our society. The right hon. Lady is right to say that the previous Government let them down, but let us not add insult to injury and have the new Government let them down. Can she reassure the House that she will reverse the regressive approach that she has taken to the winter fuel allowance, and not hit the most vulnerable people who are over 80?
Liz Kendall
I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. He will know that this was not a decision that we wanted or expected to make. The reason we have taken it is that we have to deal with the £22 billion black hole in the public finances left by Conservative Members. But in doing so, we will as a progressive party always prioritise the very poorest pensioners. That is why we are so determined to end a situation where up to 880,000 people miss out on the winter fuel allowance because they are not getting pension credit. We are determined to put that right.
Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)
Torsten Bell (Swansea West) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)
Tackling child poverty is a top priority for the new Government, and a personal priority for me. Children cannot fulfil their potential without food in their belly or a decent roof over their head, and we cannot fulfil our potential as a country when the talents of so many are left behind. That is why our new child poverty taskforce will drive action across every area of government to drive up family income, drive down family costs and give every child the best start in life.
Torsten Bell
I welcome the establishment of the child poverty taskforce. How will the taskforce ensure that lessons, including on the role of housing costs in driving up relative poverty and the necessity of growth to drive down absolute poverty, will be learnt from previous attempts to drive down child poverty in Wales and across the UK?
Liz Kendall
My hon. Friend makes a very important point about learning the lessons from the last time we were in government and lifted more than 600,000 children out of poverty, and looking at similarities and differences, not least that there are more children growing up in poverty in households, whether in the private rented sector or in social housing, and that there are more children growing up poor in a household where somebody works. Getting and creating more good quality jobs, and helping families into those jobs, is absolutely a crucial part of our child poverty plan.
Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)
Yet we have a situation where families with more children are impacted by the two-child cap and the benefit cap, and the Government are refusing to get rid of those things. At a stroke, they could lift thousands of children out of poverty and improve, overnight, their life chances. I appreciate the fact that the Government have the child poverty taskforce, but that is not making a difference to these children today, is it?
Liz Kendall
I am under no illusion about the impact 14 years of the Conservatives and the social security system has had on child poverty. That is why we are determined to take action across government to increase family incomes, drive down costs and, crucially, put in place long-term support, particularly in the early years. We will produce the strategy by spring. I am absolutely sure that every part of the plan will lift more children out of poverty.
Luke Akehurst (North Durham) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)
The last Labour Government lifted 600,000 children out of poverty. Under the Conservatives, the number went up by 700,000. There are now more than 4 million children living in poverty in the UK in the 21st century. In one of the richest countries in the world, that is a complete disgrace. That is why the work of the child poverty taskforce, which I co-chair with the Education Secretary, is so urgent and so important.
Luke Akehurst
Almost a third of children in the north-east live in poverty. The problem is particularly acute in the region. Will the Secretary of State work with our Mayor of the North East, Kim McGuinness, on her excellent regional plans to reduce child poverty?
Liz Kendall
Yes, we have already met Kim McGuinness, on 19 September, when she set out the actions she is already taking. Let me say to Members on both sides of the House that our strategy will be out in the spring, but we will not be waiting until then to act. Nationally, we have put £421 million into the household support fund to help the poorest families, and mayors such as Kim McGuinness are doing amazing work: they are working with schools to ensure that people claim the benefits to which they are entitled, and, crucially, working with businesses to help them to do all that they can to tackle in-work poverty and ensure that working families receive the money for those children.
Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)
Chris Webb (Blackpool South) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)
I am determined to put transparency at the heart of the DWP, so I have today published 31 reports that were sat on by the previous Government—something that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Social Security and Disability has long campaigned for. Under this Government’s leadership, the DWP will be honest about the problems that the country faces and focused on the solutions needed to help people build a better life. That starts with our forthcoming White Paper, to get Britain working again.
Chris Webb
I first joined WASPI women—Women Against State Pension Inequality Campaign—in their welcome campaigning activity back in 2017. Seven years later, they are still fighting for justice. Can the Minister assure women in my constituency and across the country that she will act urgently, unlike the previous Government, and bring this injustice to an end?
Liz Kendall
I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I met representatives of the WASPI campaign before this Government were elected. My hon. Friend the Minister for Pensions was the first Minister to meet them in eight years. It really is a serious report that requires serious consideration. We will do everything possible to get this issue resolved as soon as possible.
Mel Stride (Central Devon) (Con)
On 10 September, two days before recess, I led a debate in this Chamber, secured by the Conservative party, on the winter fuel allowance. The right hon. Lady spoke just now about transparency, but there was no equality impact assessment made available for that debate. Indeed, on 30 August, by way of a written question, my hon. Friend the Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans) established that the Government had no intention of publishing that particular report. Yet on 13 September—two days after the debate and the vote, and one day after Parliament had risen—the report was made available. It was clearly, in my opinion, deliberately withheld. Does the right hon. Lady agree?
Liz Kendall
That is not true. The Conservative Government did not even allow the Office for Budget Responsibility to do an analysis of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-Budget and sat on 31 publications that, under their own rules, should have been published. We published an equality analysis. The right hon. Gentleman will know that that was never done for secondary legislation when he was in government, but this Government will be open and transparent, which is what we are already doing.
Paul Davies (Colne Valley) (Lab)
Mr Speaker
Order. These are topical questions, so please can we keep them short? I have to try and get through the list to help others.
Liz Kendall
My hon. Friend has raised these issues with me before, and I will absolutely meet children, families and child poverty organisations from her constituency. We aim to visit every region and every devolved nation as part of that strategy, and I look forward to meeting her and her constituents then.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
Liz Kendall
The hon. Lady raises an extremely important question, which I have discussed with a hospice and other organisations such as Marie Curie and Sue Ryder in my own constituency. I want to look at how the system can be made to work as quickly and swiftly as possible, particularly for people at this very difficult time in life, and I would be happy for the Social Security Minister and my office to contact her directly to get more information.
Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)
Priti Patel (Witham) (Con)
With employers in Witham and across the country about to be whacked with a barrage of higher taxes, thanks to this Government, how do the Government expect employment levels to stay high? How do they expect small businesses to be at the heart of any employment strategy that they claim to have?
Liz Kendall
Under the previous Government, we had the highest taxes in 70 years, and jobcentres to which only one in six employers ever went to recruit. We will transform our jobcentres into a new jobs and careers service, so that people get the help they need, and so that employers can recruit the staff they desperately need.
Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) (Lab)
Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)
I thank the Secretary of State for her personal commitment to transparency. Further to the question asked by the shadow Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Central Devon (Mel Stride), will she share with the House how many thousands of people will die as a result of Labour’s choice to cut the winter fuel payment?
Liz Kendall
I am very happy to share the data: there are 200,000 more pensioners living in poverty after 14 years of Conservative government. I am also very happy to publish information showing a 152% increase in pension credit claims, thanks to the big, bold campaign run by this Labour Government.
Oliver Ryan (Burnley) (Lab/Co-op)
My constituents want a fair and robust welfare system, but they have no truck with fraud. Can the Secretary of State assure my constituents that she is doing everything she can to crack down on fraud, and to make sure that those who genuinely need help get it?
Social Security
Liz Kendall Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)
This has been a really important debate about a serious issue, with many heartfelt contributions. My hon. Friend the Member for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Dame Meg Hillier), the new Chair of the Treasury Committee, forensically set out the delayed and deferred decisions by the former Government that have put such pressure on the public finances. My hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams) rightly spoke about pensioners, children and disabled people in poverty, and the need to do much more to support them. The hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) talked about the crucial issue of pension credit uptake and what we will do differently. I will say more about that later, but I reassure her that the Treasury is fully behind the action that we are taking.
My hon. Friend the Member for Shipley (Anna Dixon), who has huge experience in health and social care, talked about the need to work with those in supported accommodation, housing associations and the NHS to ensure that pensioners get the help that they are entitled to. I will spell out some of that action. My hon. Friend the Member for Rossendale and Darwen (Andy MacNae) made a strong case for targeting help to the poorest pensioners and the need to tackle the root causes of poverty, including insulating homes and bringing down energy costs. My hon. Friend the Member for Poole (Neil Duncan-Jordan) mentioned, among many things, the very long and complicated pension credit form, which I have asked the Department to reduce to make it as simple as possible.
I would like to start by setting out why we have taken the difficult decision to means-test winter fuel payments so that they are no longer available to all pensioners whatever their income, but are focused on those in the greatest need. Put simply, it is because we must fix the foundations of our economy as the first step to rebuilding Britain and making the changes that our country desperately needs, and because when money is tight, our priority must be to target resources at those who need them the most.
Opposition Members do not want to be reminded of their record and the state they left the country in, but their economic failure and reckless decisions left a £22 billion hole in the public finances this year, with a £6.4 billion overspend on the asylum system, a £2.9 billion overspend on the transport budget, and new roads, hospitals and train stations announced but not budgeted for. There was one unfunded commitment after another, and the reserves were spent three times over—spending like there is no tomorrow, with no thought for the consequences today. That is before we even begin to deal with the challenges we already knew about: NHS waiting lists at 7.6 million, more than 1 million waiting for a council home, a totally broken prison system and more than 4 million children growing up poor. Opposition Members want to deny that is the case, but the Office for Budget Responsibility is crystal clear: it was made aware of the true extent of the pressures on the public finances only after we were elected—pressures it says constitute one of the largest overspends outside the pandemic. Faced with that reality and the need to get the public finances on track this year, we took the difficult decision to focus winter fuel payments on those in greatest need.
Lucy Rigby (Northampton North) (Lab)
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for giving way. Pension credit uptake is clearly critically important. From discussions I have had in my constituency, I know there are some myths around pension credit eligibility. Will the Secretary of State please confirm the efforts she is making on pension credit uptake, and does she agree with me that it is vital we ensure everyone who is eligible for pension credit receives it?
Liz Kendall
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I would make that point in response to the faux outrage of Conservative Members, who left 880,000 pensioners, the very poorest, not getting the pension credit they are entitled to. I urge all hon. Members to work with us that their local councils to ensure pensioners get the money to which they are entitled.
As my right hon. Friends the Chancellor and the Prime Minister have said, this is not a decision we wanted or expected to make, but when we promised we would be responsible with taxpayers’ money we meant it, because we know what happens when Conservative Members play fast and loose with the public finances: working people and pensioners on fixed incomes pay the price with soaring interest rates, mortgages and inflation.
Dame Harriett Baldwin
I thank the Secretary of State. Will she confirm from the Dispatch Box that if every pensioner who is eligible for pension credit takes it up, the cost to the Exchequer will actually be substantially more than the savings from axing the winter fuel payment?
Liz Kendall
Is that the reason why Conservative Members never took the action needed to increase pension credit uptake? We take a different approach. All the savings the Chancellor has announced take into account the increased uptake that we want and intend to achieve. When money is so tight, it cannot be right that all pensioners, including some of the wealthiest pensioners, receive a payment worth £200 to £300 a year regardless of their income.
Gavin Robinson (Belfast East) (DUP)
I thank the right hon. Lady for giving way and allowing me the opportunity, at this late stage of the debate, to speak on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland.
Not in our name, Secretary of State. This is a political choice, irrespective of the debate back and forth between the Labour Government and the Conservative Opposition. It is not for us, it is not right and this measure is a measure of shame.
Liz Kendall
I know the right hon. Gentleman will care about the increase in uptake in pension credit that we need, and that he will also care about those just above the threshold, which I will turn to later on. That is a really important issue and I will address it head on, but first I want to spell out the principle underlying the approach we have taken, which is the most help going to those who need it most and significant support for all pensioners through the pension triple lock, backed by extra help available for those on low incomes.
Pension credit goes to 1.4 million of the poorest pensioners and is worth on average £3,900 a year.
Liz Kendall
I will not.
But the truth we had to confront coming into office was that up to 880,000 of the very poorest pensioners are not even claiming the pension credit that they are entitled to. That is a national scandal, and we are determined to make that change. The previous Government did nothing to tackle this issue properly. Indeed, in 2012 they promised to merge housing benefit and pension credit, which we know would significantly increase uptake, yet when I arrived in the Department I learned it would not happen until 2028—a decision that was taken on their watch. That is completely unacceptable and, unlike the Conservatives, we will change it.
Mike Amesbury
I thank the Secretary of State for giving way and welcome the increased measures to target the 880,000 who, because of the actions of Conservative Members when they were in government for 14 years, have not received pensioner credit. There are people who have legitimate concerns about the low level of the threshold—hard-working people who have tiny pension pots. What mitigating measures will the Secretary of State put in place?
Liz Kendall
I will come on to extra help for those just above the threshold in a moment, but I want to spell out what we are doing on pension credit.
We have done more to increase pension credit uptake in the last two months than Conservative Members did in 14 years. We have written to all local authorities to ask them to identify eligible pensioners, including by sharing data. We are joining forces with Age UK and Citizens Advice to ensure pensioners check and apply. We launched a major awareness campaign, to continue right up to the deadline to apply on 21 December—and yes, pension credit will be backdated by three months—backed by 450 extra staff to ensure claims are processed as quickly as possible.
The Deputy Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner), is working with housing associations and supported accommodation providers so that their residents know what they are entitled to. I am working with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting), to ensure that frontline NHS staff can signpost older patients who may be housebound because of disabilities and chronic conditions. For the very first time, we are writing to all pensioners on housing benefit who are potentially eligible to encourage them to claim, something the Conservatives never did. In the longer term, because the only way to guarantee uptake is to make the whole process more automated, we will bring forward the merger of housing benefit and pension credit, which Conservative Members never did.
That is the extra help for the poorest that we are determined to deliver, but it is built on a bedrock of support for all pensioners through our commitment to the pension triple lock, which has seen the new state pension increase by £900 this year and £970 the year before. Our continued commitment to the triple lock means that the new state pension is forecast to increase by a further £1,700 over the course of this Parliament, including, if today’s Office for National Statistics figures are confirmed next month, an extra £460 from next April.
Paul Waugh (Rochdale) (Lab/Co-op)
When Gordon Brown introduced pension credit and lifted 1 million pensioners out of poverty, in the teeth of the opposition of the Conservative party—let us remind them Conservative Members opposed pension credit—he also introduced savings credit. Savings credit was specifically targeted at pensioners who saved for old age with a small savings pot and a second pension. What happened in 2016? The Conservative party scrapped it. Does my right hon. Friend not agree with me that we should not listen to the crocodile tears of those in the Conservative party?
Liz Kendall
I could not have put it better myself: there is faux outrage from Conservative Members about those just above the pension credit threshold, when it was their former Tory Chancellor, George Osborne, who took a red pen to it, meaning its value decreased, creating some of the problems we are now having to deal with.
There is much more we are doing to help low-income pensioners, including those just above pension credit: the £150 warm home discount; the household support fund, which we have just extended, with £500 million of additional funding that councils can use to help low-income pensioners; our warm homes plan to tackle the root causes of fuel poverty; and the fact that, because the only way to really control energy bills is through cheap home-grown energy, we have already legislated for Great British Energy. That is the difference a Labour Government make: fixing the foundations, taking the long-term decisions our country needs, prioritising help for those who need it most, helping all pensioners with the pension triple lock, and providing more help for low-income pensioners too.
We will not shy away from our responsibilities, as Members now on the Opposition Benches did. We were elected on a platform to deliver economic stability, rebuild the country and make the changes that our country needs; making it better and giving it its future back. Pensioners deserve better than the faux outrage of Opposition Members.
Question put.
Cost of Living
Liz Kendall Excerpts(1 month, 3 weeks ago)
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The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)
Today we are announcing funding for an extension to the household support fund, which will enable local authorities in England to help vulnerable people and families receive discretionary emergency crisis support as we help people through the winter.
Many councils also use the fund beyond emergency support, including working with local charities and community groups to provide residents with key appliances, school uniforms, cookery classes, and items to improve energy efficiency in the home.
The scheme will be worth £421 million in England and will run until the end of March 2025. The devolved Governments will receive consequential funding as usual through the Barnett formula to spend at their discretion.
The dire inheritance we face means more people are living in poverty now than 14 years ago, and this Government are taking immediate action to prevent a cliff edge of support for the most vulnerable in our society.
At the same time, we are taking action to fix the foundations of our country and spread opportunity and prosperity to every part of the country through our plans to grow the economy, make work pay, and get Britain working again.
That means delivering the biggest and boldest reforms to employment support for a generation, including through our upcoming White Paper to tackle the root causes of worklessness.
It also means reducing poverty and driving up opportunity through our child poverty taskforce, taking action across Government so every child, no matter where they come from, has the best start to life.
We will also root out the unacceptable levels of fraud and error in our welfare system so that taxpayers’ money supports those who need it most.
We are under no illusions about the scale of the challenge given our inheritance. We will not turn things around overnight, but our plan will transform lives.
By growing the economy and unlocking investment through the national wealth fund, launching Great British Energy to drive home-grown clean energy and lower bills, making work pay and developing a new child poverty strategy to give children the best start in life, the Government are looking at all levers available to unlock the potential of millions across the country and give them the platform they need to thrive.
Further details for the forthcoming extension will be published ahead of the launch of the new scheme in the coming weeks.
This funding will work to help those in need. Pensioners and others struggling with the cost of living over the colder months should contact their local council to see what support may be available to them. If applicable, please direct residents in your area to their local authority who will be able to help them access the household support fund in the coming months.
[HCWS58]
Labour Market
Liz Kendall Excerpts(3 months ago)
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The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Liz Kendall)
Today I am announcing plans to get Britain working as part of the Government’s No. 1 mission: growing the economy.
We have seen record numbers—2.8 million—excluded from the workforce due to long-term sickness and nearly 1 million young people—one in eight—are not in education, employment, or training.
The plans we are setting out will deliver an employment support system that addresses the labour market challenges of today and tomorrow.
We will set a long-term ambition to get to an 80% employment rate, alongside helping more people out of low paid and poor-quality work. To support this, I will work across Government to deliver fundamental reform in three areas:
Undertaking a major overhaul of jobcentres—bringing together Jobcentre Plus and the National Careers Service to create a new national jobs and careers service focused on helping people get into work and get on at work, not only on monitoring and managing benefit claims.
Establishing a youth guarantee—offering training, an apprenticeship, or help to find work for all young people aged 18 to 21.
Empowering local leaders and local areas to tackle economic inactivity—we will give local places the responsibility and resources to design a joined-up work, health and skills offer that is right for local people, as a key part of their local growth plans. The Department will support local areas to make a success of this new approach, including through devolving new powers over employment support to catalyse local action and change.
To drive these changes forward, as part of our growth mission, the Government will publish a White Paper, to set out the policy framework for delivering on these manifesto commitments. To help inform and shape our new approach, I will also be establishing a labour market advisory board of leading experts, chaired by Professor Paul Gregg, who will provide my Department with insight, ideas, and challenge as we design and drive a fundamentally new approach.
[HCWS18]