Women’s State Pension Age

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 25th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mel Stride]

As the right hon. Gentleman will know, I am fully aware of the reports’ findings. As he will know, they raise many questions, which we need to look at carefully. We will not delay in so doing, but that is why I have come to assure the House that we will do exactly that and engage with Parliament in an appropriate way.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

This interim statement felt like a non-statement. It spoke about clarity but offered none at all to WASPI women or Members of the House. I repeat what many across the Chamber have said: on what day and in what month can we expect a full statement? WASPI women up and down the country expect that full statement.

[Mel Stride]

The hon. Gentleman raised the question to which by now I have probably responded two dozen times. The answer remains the same: we will look at these matters extremely carefully and diligently, which is what everybody who has an interest in them would expect us to do. The report was published as recently as Thursday, and it is now Monday. We will look at these issues very carefully indeed, and there will be no undue delay. We will ensure that we interact with Parliament in an appropriate fashion, as we did with the ombudsman.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 18th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jo Churchill]

I thank my hon. Friend, but I would like to inform him that at the moment there are no plans to recommence the publication of those statistics.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

The last Labour Government lifted 1 million children out of poverty. After 14 years of Tory Government, we have 1 million children in destitution. What has gone wrong?

[Mel Stride]

I have to take issue with the hon. Gentleman. He needs to look more closely at his party’s record in government. Fact No. 1 is that the Labour party always leaves office with higher unemployment. Fact No. 2 is that economic inactivity in our country is lower than in any year in his party’s time in office. Fact No. 3 is that absolute poverty has declined in our country since his party was in office. Fact No. 4 is that there were more children in workless households on his watch than there are on ours. Perhaps most tellingly of all, during his party’s time in office, over 1 million people languished on long-term benefits for almost a decade. That is a disgraceful record.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 18th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I hate to say it, but I have a lot of people to get in.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

In 2010 there were 117,000 16 to 24-year-olds on long-term sickness and health benefits. That figure now stands at a massive 235,000. Why is that, and what are the Government doing about those appalling figures?

[Mel Stride]

The hon. Gentleman is right. There has been a marked increase in the prevalence of mental health conditions, particularly among those aged 16 to 24, which is why we are bringing in measures such as universal support and talking therapies within the national health service, for which 400,000 additional places were announced by the Chancellor at the autumn statement. We have introduced measures such as WorkWell, and others, to address exactly these issues.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 13th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

Economic inactivity due to ill health has more than doubled for 18 to 24-year-olds over the past decade. Why does the Minister think that is? Could she also please look again at the closure of the local jobcentre in Halton Lea in my constituency because of building safety issues?

[Mims Davies]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question—I will happily take away his second point, have a look at it and get back to him in writing. I want to assure him and the House that having DWP youth hubs together in one location helps those young people who have been going through very difficult times because of covid. They help local youth experts and local partnerships to come together and overcome those barriers, and ensure that young people have the skills and confidence sought by local employers to take up the opportunities that are around them, just down the road. It is really important that we are there to support them through those mixed youth hubs, which are a big focus for me and for our Department.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 4th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

I welcome the good news but also accept the challenge. I have visited Bracknell to meet my hon. Friend and am happy to sit down with him and the local jobcentres to ensure we are addressing his constituency’s vacancy issues.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

Last week I met the citizens advice bureau in Cheshire west and Chester, which informed me that 75% of those who appeal their PIP assessments win. Why does the Minister not get it right in the first place, and what is he doing, at pace, to address that?

[Tom Pursglove]

I am very appreciative of citizens advice bureaux around the country for all the work they do in supporting constituents in each of our constituencies. In the interests of time, I will just refer the hon. Gentleman back to the points I made earlier about the steps we are taking.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 6th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

Since 2015, more than 219,000 1950s-born WASPI women—Women Against State Pension Inequality—have passed away. What more are Ministers doing to ensure that WASPI women get the pensions they deserve?

[Laura Trott]

The hon. Gentleman will know that the new state pension is very beneficial for women. We know that under automatic enrolment, more women than ever have got a private pension. On the specific matter he asked about, he will know that there is ongoing work by the ombudsman, and I cannot comment until that is completed.

Child Maintenance Services

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2023 Westminster Hall

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg, just as it is a pleasure to serve alongside you as a neighbouring MP. I thank the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Jamie Stone) for leading the debate. His speech was eloquent and powerful, and contained some useful pointers for the Minister. As my good friend and colleague stated in his opening remarks, this is a cross-party issue. We have constituency offices and teams that are inundated by the consequences of a system that is not fit for purpose. I welcome this opportunity to speak about the ways in which we can improve the Child Maintenance Service. Other MPs will highlight specific cases to inform the debate, and undoubtedly the Minister will have a number of takeaways.

The parents of hundreds of thousands of children are in receipt of child maintenance at any one time. When issues occur, they can blight family relationships. Many have already broken down, and some are quite toxic, in terms of domestic violence and so forth. Ultimately, the real harm and hardship are focused on the children. They are who the system is about: the system is there to protect children and help with their life chances. It is vital that it functions well.

We all agree that the CMS has many problems—not least the fact that so much maintenance goes unpaid. Only one third of families with maintenance arrangements have working agreements that see the money paid in full. That is not good enough. Almost half of children in single parent families live in poverty, and in-work poverty has hit record levels. It is no surprise that, as the evidence clearly shows, receiving child maintenance on time and in full lifts children and their families out of poverty.

I want to raise a particular case that my staff and I have been dealing with. We have been dealing with many cases, but this one highlights a number of the problems that constituents face. My constituent is called Danielle. She was forced to contact the Child Maintenance Service after a former partner refused to pay the amount calculated by the CMS to support their two children. A deduction of earnings order was implemented. When, in November, Danielle did not receive the payment, she was told that, although the employer had taken the money from the father that month, it had not forwarded that payment to the CMS.

My constituent works full time, but without that money, she was forced to go into her overdraft to pay for the basics in life. The cost of living challenges at the moment are well documented. Although Danielle has now received that money, the next payment did not arrive either. She was advised by the CMS that the employer stated that it would not transfer anything further until February. She was also told that she was not the only parent waiting for maintenance payments to be sent from that employer. It is clear that that employer is causing a multitude of problems not only for Danielle but for a number of constituents in my patch and in other constituencies in the area. The CMS may be forced to take the company to court to obtain the money, but the decision will be balanced against the cost to taxpayers of taking such action. That may result in my constituent waiting even longer for the money that she and, very importantly, the two children desperately need.

In the meantime, Danielle has been forced to incur additional costs by using an extended overdraft and borrowing hundreds of pounds from her pensioner parents, who do not have much money themselves. That could go on for a considerable time. She is talking about actually finishing work, coming out of the labour market and looking at other options, such as benefits. Surely the system is shooting not only Danielle in the foot, but her children and the taxpayer itself. The enforcement system is simply not working to protect children. There has been mention of the report that has finally been published today. I need time to digest that, as I am sure other hon. Members do. I hope that it addresses some of these issues and some of the issues already highlighted in the Chamber today.

Finally, and more specifically in relation to the case that I have raised here, will the Minister comment on how we can improve the deduction from earnings system, so that employers do not force families into debt or overdrafts or even on to benefits, and we ensure that children have the best start in life with a system that works effectively?

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 5th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

A huge amount is being done to increase the time that individual claimants spend with work coaches. More intensive support is being provided. The additional earnings threshold, which my hon. Friend will be fully aware of, is also being rolled out across the country to ensure that we see claimants in better-paid jobs on a longer-term basis.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

9. What assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the cost of childcare on incentives for people to transfer from universal credit into work.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mims Davies)]

The Government are providing generous, tailored support for parents through universal credit, the free childcare entitlement and skills support to help parents to get into work and to progress. Eligible claimants can receive financial support for up-front childcare costs as well as support for ongoing costs.

[Mike Amesbury]

Sandra in the Northwich part of my constituency—like many people up and down the United Kingdom, predominantly women—faces a significant barrier as a result of increased childcare costs. The childcare element of universal credit has been frozen since 2016. When does the Minister intend to do the right thing and unfreeze that element of universal credit?

[Mims Davies]

Universal credit-eligible claimants can claim up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month, regardless of the number of hours they work; I would compare that favourably with 70% in tax credits. What I would say to employers who may be overlooking single parents is that they are not understanding the wide range of childcare challenges. I am a single mum—I get it. Looking at job design and flexibility is equally important.

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 31st October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Guy Opperman]

If my hon. Friend writes to me giving the specific details, I will ensure that the ministerial team and the civil servants involved look into it as a matter of urgency.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

Does the new Secretary of State—whom I welcome to his place—still agree with his statement that cutting maternity rights will be good for business?

[Mel Stride]

Given that I never made that statement, I do not agree with it, no.

Cost of Living Increases: Pensioners

Mike Amesbury Excerpts

Monday 21st March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Ashworth]

I have secured my first U-turn in the role, Madam Deputy Speaker. Does that not just show that we in the Opposition stand up for Britain’s pensioners? I asked the Secretary of State a very simple question earlier—whether she would commit to the triple lock—and she did not say yes. I am pleased that she has now cleared up the muddle she got herself in earlier, but given the other commitments—[Interruption.] The Pensions Minister—the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman)—says Ministers have said it repeatedly, but they all stood on a manifesto saying they were going to keep the triple lock. I say to him that his commitment to the triple lock might not be worth the paper it is written on, given that he broke his manifesto commitment.

While I am talking about the Pensions Minister, he told the House in September, in seeking to justify breaking the triple lock, that the Government would

“ensure pensioners’ spending power is preserved and that they are protected from higher costs of living.”

Does any Tory Member really believe that that ministerial promise has remotely been met? Of course it has not.

[Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)]

I wonder whether my right hon. Friend could secure another U-turn from Ministers, on the national insurance rise for working pensioners.

[Jonathan Ashworth]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The Pensions Minister, who will sum up the debate later, promised—these are his words—that the Government would preserve pensioners’ spending power and protect them from the higher cost of living. On the same day that the Government broke the triple lock, they introduced the national insurance increase, a proportion of which, for the first time, will be paid by working pensioners. Indeed, a working pensioner on average earnings will lose out by £1,400 over two years. That is not protecting pensioners’ spending power or protecting them from the higher cost of living.

Have pensioners been protected from the higher cost of living through energy bills? Next month, we will see energy bills rise by 54%—£700 on average. In October, there is likely to be another 25% rise. All the Government are offering is a £150 rebate this April—although it is not clear whether they will guarantee that for pensioners who do not pay council tax or who get council tax benefit—followed by a loan that has to be paid back through a £40 levy. That £350, £200 of which has to be paid back, will be totally wiped out by the £388 real-terms cut to the basic state pension. That is not protecting older people from the higher cost of living or preserving their spending power; I suggest it is more like daylight robbery.

We have already said that pensioners are going to be paying more in tax, but what about pension credit, which featured in the exchanges earlier? About 850,000 pensioners eligible for pension credit are going without it. That is £1.7 billion unclaimed—something like £1,900 for every qualifying household that is losing out. As Members across the House have pointed out, pension credit often unlocks other benefits, such as free TV licences—obviously, the Government cut those and changed their financing—council tax benefit and so on. Now Ministers are praying in aid the pension credit guarantee as justification for their real-terms cut in the value of the state pension. They do not mention very often that pension credit was a Labour policy, which they criticised when we introduced it. Indeed, if my memory serves me correctly, they also opposed its precursor, the minimum income guarantee, and even voted against it. They do not mention that, but given that pension credit uptake is so poor, if they drove it up they could lift 440,000 older people out of poverty.