Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Maria Miller and George Hollingbery

Thursday 28th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

The hon. Lady is right to make sure that we have the right provision to support families in our communities, particularly those with disabled people, and that is why we have made sure that local budgets and funding are available to local authorities so that they can make such discretionary payments. Every family situation is different, and we need to take those differences into account.

[George Hollingbery (Meon Valley) (Con)]

Can my hon. Friend tell the House whether a care component will be built into universal credit, whether it will be subject to work conditionality, whether carer’s allowance will be assessed within universal credit, and whether households in receipt of disability living allowance and personal independence payment will be subject to the benefits cap?

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend got a lot of detail into that question, and he will know that we have looked at the issue very carefully. Disability living allowance will not be included in the benefit cap, and importantly we intend to raise the equivalent in universal credit of employment and support allowance from £32.25 today to about £77 in future, ensuring that it includes more support for those who cannot go to work.

Disability Benefits and Social Care

Debate between Maria Miller and George Hollingbery

Wednesday 20th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Maria Miller]

If the hon. Lady lets me finish my reply to the last intervention, that would be helpful. We must ensure that across the board we recognise that for many people who are not in employment, mental health problems are the primary cause. We need much broader understanding of how to ensure that we help people with mental health problems to get into work, whether that is through the Work programme or the work capability assessment.

[George Hollingbery]

rose—

[Sheila Gilmore]

rose—

[Maria Miller]

I will give way to my hon. Friend, then to the hon. Lady, then I really must move on.

[George Hollingbery]

The Minister might be about to come on to the subject of carers—I imagine that she might wind up on that point—but will she confirm two points? Will she confirm first that households in receipt of DLA, and therefore afterwards PIP, will not be subject to the benefits cap and, secondly, that carer’s allowance will be awarded outwith universal credit?

[Maria Miller]

My hon. Friend is right to pick up on those details, because such details make a real difference to family life.