Social Security System: Rising Cost of Living

Debate between Lord Bird and Baroness Stedman-Scott

Tuesday 17th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bird (CB)]

Is the Minister aware that 50% of people presenting in hospitals with cardiac arrest and so on are in food poverty?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I was not aware of that fact—that a lot of people who come to hospitals with cardiac arrest are in food poverty. That needs to be referred to the Department of Health to get a more detailed answer.

DWP: Support for Larger Families

Debate between Lord Bird and Baroness Stedman-Scott

Tuesday 11th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I am sorry if my response was harsh. That would never be my intention in this Chamber. However, I believe in being absolutely truthful and I am reporting that the Government at the moment will continue with the two-child policy. But, as ever, if people have other ideas and things they want to talk about, the door is open.

[Lord Bird (CB)]

My Lords, not supporting children in the early stages of their lives will cause a ricochet through the years. We should take into account that fact. I also have to say that my snip came too late as I have five children.

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

We do seem to be sharing today, do we not? The noble Lord’s serious point is that unless we deal with things before they become a problem, we bank up problems for the future. That is why early intervention is critical, and why we are working with the Early Intervention Foundation on reducing parental conflicts so that young children can have a better start in life, and the family hubs network is coming in. However, I understand the noble Lord’s point and it is well made.

Child Poverty: Nuffield Foundation Review

Debate between Lord Bird and Baroness Stedman-Scott

Tuesday 19th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I am happy to say that one of the areas of responsibility in my portfolio is the programme for reducing parental conflict. I have met numerous local authorities that are delivering it and we are seeing great progress in the reduction of parental conflict. We are putting £34 million into championing family hubs, which is another great and exciting measure that we are taking during these difficult days. We want to make sure that we reduce conflict so that children get the best start in life.

[Lord Bird (CB)]

We know that many children get it in the neck from poverty. Let us hope that we can address that problem. The biggest problem that I would like the Minister to talk about is the children who are about to slip into poverty. More than 500,000 people who have not been able to pay their rent or mortgage because of Covid-19 are going to be evicted. It will be an enormous increase: what are we doing about that?

Covid-19: Universal Credit

Debate between Lord Bird and Baroness Stedman-Scott

Tuesday 2nd March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

The noble Lord is right to raise the point about people who try to abuse the system with no right to do so. The situation with fraud and recovering sums is being dealt with in the department. To give the best response in the time I have available, I will write to the noble Lord and place a copy of the letter in the Library.

[Lord Bird (CB)]

When universal credit was first put together, one big thing was to cut through bureaucracy and waste. I would like to think that we have moved towards reducing the ways in which people can get on universal credit. Obviously, there are many problems for people who want to go on to it, and they are still having to wait a long time. My question is more about the long-term effect of universal credit. How much does it cost to actually deliver £1 of social support, because in the old days it used to be about a fiver to deliver that £1?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I not sure where the noble Lord gets his figures from; I do not dispute them, but I will have to go back and have a good look. The universal credit business case was agreed in 2018 and demonstrated that it remains deliverable and affordable, and provides value for money. In a steady state, universal credit will generate economic value of £8 billion per year, and it is doing a great job.

Universal Credit

Debate between Lord Bird and Baroness Stedman-Scott

Monday 2nd March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stedman-Scott]

I am so glad that we agree on the principle that people should be, and in the majority of cases are, better off in work. I like the noble Baroness’s idea, and I am touched that she thinks my powers of persuasion are so good. In order that I can deploy them to the maximum, let us meet prior to me going back to work the magic. I would like to go with the best case possible to see if we can do this, to get the information that helps us help people more.

[Lord Bird (CB)]

Are the Government aware that a number of the people sleeping rough on our streets at the moment have fallen through the universal credit net? Would the Minister like to comment on that?