Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Margaret Greenwood and Sarah Newton

Monday 19th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Sarah Newton)]

I thank my hon. Friend for asking that really good question. People who qualify for PIP before retirement age are able then to carry on claiming PIP, so long as they are eligible, into retirement. That is in addition to pension or any other benefits to which they are eligible.

[Margaret Greenwood (Wirral West) (Lab)]

The UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights said in his report that the rising level of child poverty is not just a disgrace but is a

“social calamity and an economic disaster”,

and that Government policies are locking millions of children

“into a cycle of poverty from which most will have great difficulty escaping.”

According to Joseph Rowntree Foundation research published today, the current freeze on working-age benefits is the single biggest driver behind rising child poverty levels. Will the new Secretary of State end the benefits freeze and make tackling child poverty the priority it should be once again?