Paul Maynard
Main Page: Paul Maynard (Conservative - Blackpool North and Cleveleys)Department Debates - View all Paul Maynard's debates with the Department for Work and Pensions
(9 years, 5 months ago)
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Mr Duncan Smith
Our purpose is to support people as they go into work and progress into full-time work—that is what universal credit is all about. I believe that what the hon. Gentleman will see as we complete its roll-out is that more families will benefit, to the degree of taking control of their lives and having that independence of a pay packet.
Paul Maynard (Blackpool North and Cleveleys) (Con)
Does the Secretary of State share my desire to focus on those children in persistent poverty—those in that situation for three years out of four—many of whom are, sadly, in my constituency and face multiple disadvantages within their family? Does he agree that they were a specific group wholly ignored by the previous Labour Government’s anti-poverty strategy?
Mr Duncan Smith
My hon. Friend has campaigned hard on this and he is right; one problem with setting a narrow measure such as this and then being governed by it is that it is all about rotating people at the top of the relative poverty scale and not actually dealing with the deepest and deep-set problems. Dealing with those is what our purpose must be as we go forward to look at new measures.