PIP Changes: Impact on Carer’s Allowance

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Stephen Timms]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for making that point. Given his description of the people being cared for, they will continue to receive personal independence payments. Once the changes have taken effect from November next year, those who do not score at least four points on any of the 10 daily living activities that the benefit conditions set out will not be eligible for personal independence payments. I would need to look at the particular cases that the hon. Gentleman has in mind, but I imagine that people who cannot be left alone at home will continue to score at least four points. Therefore, the carer’s allowance for their carers will continue as at present.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

I have the highest respect for my right hon. Friend, but I am afraid he is not right on this policy. As a former physiotherapist, I know that many people will not be able to claim carer’s allowance. Now that we have had the impact assessment, we have seen that nearly 400,000 disabled people will be pushed further into poverty, including 50,000 children, and that 150,000 carers will lose the lifeline of carer’s allowance. We do not have a social care system to replace it; besides, social care is more expensive. Today, I want to speak truth to power. Sometimes Governments get things wrong, and I ask the Government to seriously reflect on these policies. The first half of Pathways to Work is good, but the second half will let a lot of people down. Please reflect, and please withdraw this policy.

[Sir Stephen Timms]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, but we will not withdraw the policy. We will certainly reflect on it, and we will consult properly on the content of the Green Paper. The figures published by the Office for Budget Responsibility yesterday showed that the benefit changes, on their own, will take 250,000 people, including 200,000 adults, below the poverty line, but that is before any consideration of the impact of the big commitment that we are making to employment support —up to £1 billion a year by the end of the Parliament. That will clearly have a very positive effect in reducing poverty. The Office for Budget Responsibility will look at all of this over the summer and then update its figures in the autumn. We will see what it concludes, but I think the balance of this package will be very positive for reducing poverty in the UK.

British Sign Language Week

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jen Craft]

The hon. Lady is quite right that there is a real case for children across the board learning some BSL. We never know—for one child, it might spark a lifelong love of the language. Indeed, I believe there is a young girl in the Public Gallery who has her BSL level 1 qualification and she is still at primary school, which shows what is possible and what can be achieved.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

[In British Sign Language: I learned BSL because I created barriers for deaf people, and I wanted to take those down. Is it right that all children learn level 1 at school?]

[Jen Craft]

My hon. Friend is quite right. All children should be offered the opportunity to learn BSL level 1 at school. As she says, it can only help to break down those barriers to the deaf community and open up our society for those who are BSL first-language speakers.

I will conclude because I know that other Members want to speak, and I want to offer everyone the opportunity to practise their BSL if they have learned some—I very much hope they have. Broadly, the Government must embody the maxim “Nothing about us without us” as they continue to improve accessibility for the deaf community. Deaf signers should lead the design, delivery and evaluation of BSL in Government and across public services. We need to see a commitment to truly embed deaf voices in public service delivery and policymaking.

Sign Language Week does not represent a small minority issue. BSL is the fourth most widely used language in the UK. It is relied on by thousands of families, including my own, and learning BSL opens up access to an enriching community for deaf people to be part of. It provides a special bond and a shared sense of identity, in a society that has historically refused to recognise deaf culture and need.

We owe it to members of the deaf community and the campaigners who have come before us to continue to put BSL on the Government’s agenda. We have the legal framework in place to effect real change, and we now need to turn that into a positive reality.

Welfare Reform

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

That is absolutely essential for me personally, and for the Government as a whole, and I give that assurance to the hon. Lady. However, I gently say to her that pensioner poverty increased under the Conservatives, and they left 880,000 pensioners not getting the pension credit they deserve. The Conservatives are suddenly converted to caring about pensioners on low incomes. In contrast, we have decided to act.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

As a physio, I know that optimising somebody’s function and independence, whether they are in work or not, saves the system so much money, because it prevents dependency. However, I find that incongruous with the cuts of £5 billion and the changes to the eligibility criteria. Will the Secretary of State ensure that before the measures are brought to the House, disabled people are consulted and involved in the decision making? We must ensure that people maintain their independence, psychological safety and dignity, and that they are not pushed further into poverty.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 17th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Stephen Timms]

First, I recognise that there has been a good deal of anxiety, and I regret that. But there will not be long to wait. The proposals will soon become clear. The hon. Lady will welcome a great deal of the changes that we want to make.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

As a human rights city, York believes that disabled people should be at the heart of all decision making. How have disabled people formed the Minister’s views in making these changes? Have they been at the heart of the decision making?

[Sir Stephen Timms]

My hon. Friend is right. Our manifesto has a firm commitment that the views and voices of disabled people should be at the heart of everything that we do. Over the past week I have had discussions with a number of disabled people’s fora. When we come forward with our proposals shortly, we will consult extensively with disabled people and their organisations about the right way forward.

Community and Third Sector Organisations: Employment

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 10th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Paulette Hamilton]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. It is so important for us to work together to get what we need for our local communities.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for securing this debate. Small organisations can often have the biggest impact. Chocolate and Co. in York is taking people out of the criminal justice system and people who have had a life of addiction and turning their lives around with employment. However, it costs money. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need to see a long-term cost-benefit analysis of what these organisations can bring, to ensure they get the funding they need to transform these people’s lives?

[Paulette Hamilton]

My hon. Friend raises the valuable point that we cannot do anything without money, so we must ensure that the funding is there to support these organisations to deliver what we need in our local communities.

The challenges that we face in Erdington and north Birmingham are not unique. The UK has long grappled with the skills shortages that holds back economic growth. According to the Department for Education, skills shortages have doubled between 2017 and 2022, to more than half a million, and now account for 36% of job vacancies. This a national crisis that demands a national response. That is why I was encouraged by the Labour Government’s announcement of Skills England last year. The initiative, which brings together stakeholders to meet the skills needs of the future, is exactly the kind of bold, collective approach we need. By creating a more integrated and responsive training system, Skills England will provide new opportunities for young people and support businesses in building a skilled workforce.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 3rd February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Torsten Bell]

It is important that we keep driving up the take-up of pension credit, but that is not the only support available to pensioners: everyone will see the state pension rise by over 4% this April; the household support fund is very important and will be extended for another year; and the warm home discount is available to the poorest pensioners.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Government figures show that an additional 42,500 households have claimed pension credit, yet that is only about 5% of all those eligible who were not claiming it. As constituency MPs, we are having to support people who are really struggling with the cold and their financial balances. Will the Minister think about setting up a pensioner poverty taskforce, so we can really get underneath the issues facing older people?

[Torsten Bell]

I am sure that all Members, on both sides of the House, are providing support to their constituents—pensioners, those of working age and children—to ensure they can cope following a difficult few years for everyone because of the cost of living crisis. On pensioner poverty specifically, it is important that we update our understanding of how that has developed. If we look at the record, we see that pensioner poverty halved under the previous Labour Government, but rose by 300,000 under the Tory Government over the past 14 years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 16th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

The Scottish Government have been given a record settlement in the recent Budget. As the hon. Member knows, winter fuel payments and other benefits are devolved to the Scottish Government.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

I thank the residents of York for donating to my thermals collection on Saturday, but I know that older people in the city of York will really struggle this winter. Will the Minister say how many people across the country have signed up to pension credit since July and what additional steps will be taken to ensure that those who miss the 21 December deadline will still be able to get support to keep warm this winter?

[Emma Reynolds]

Claims have more than doubled—they have increased by 145% since late July—and we are working at pace to process those claims. We have deployed an additional 500 staff to ensure that those on the lowest incomes get the pension credit that they need.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Emma Reynolds]

It is good to see that the SNP Government are focusing on that issue now, because during their 17 years in government, we have seen increases in pensioner poverty across Scotland.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Pensioners in poverty now have just 40 days to apply for the winter fuel payment via the pension credit system. Will the Minister look at extending the deadline so that more people can claim pension credit and get the winter fuel payment?

[Emma Reynolds]

I reassure my hon. Friend that we have redeployed 500 additional staff to process the claims. We are working at pace to process them, but 21 December remains the deadline.

Oral Answers to Questions

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Monday 7th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

I thank my hon. Friend for her question, and I welcome her to her position as Chair of the Select Committee. Alongside our work to increase pension credit uptake, the household support fund is available for those just above the pension credit level. My own council has done a lot of work to make sure that pensioners just above that level can get extra help with the costs of heating or energy debt. There is also the warm home discount, which is available not just to those on pension credit, but again to those just above that level if they are on low incomes and have high housing costs.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

I congratulate the Secretary of State on her ambition to sign people up to pension credit, but we know that about 780,000 people will not sign up in time and also that there are 1 million people in fuel poverty above that mark. Given that we are really worried now, as winter is approaching, about the impact that this is going to have, particularly on the health of older people, will she look at the work done by Energy Systems Catapult and NHS Gloucestershire on social prescribing to ensure that people can receive energy payments in that way?

[Liz Kendall]

My hon. Friend raises a very important point. This is not just about urging people to come forward and claim. We are writing to pensioners on housing benefit for the first time ever, and I am determined to bring forward the merger of housing benefit and pension credit, which the former Government delayed for years. I very much agree about the need to bring together social prescribing with help from the household support fund and other areas to make sure pensioners get all the help they need, and about the need to work with frontline NHS staff, as we are also doing, to make sure that the poorest who may be stuck at home with chronic conditions also know what they are entitled to.

Social Security

Rachael Maskell Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson). We sat together on the Health and Social Care Committee and heard the evidence from Sir Chris Whitty. We know what Professor Sir Michael Marmot has been saying for decades, and the public health evidence is clear.

Our inheritance was 2.1 million pensioners living in poverty; we have to protect them every single day. They make the hardest budgetary decisions—harder than those made in the Treasury, where there are choices. They have no choice. They have to put a roof over their heads, they have to pay for their food, and they have to pay for their heating. We know that those sums are not adding up—we are getting letters coming in— and we look at the figures that our constituents have to look at every single day. They are scared, and they are telling us that. They will not switch the switch, because they know that if they do, they will have bills that they cannot pay. We need to protect those very vulnerable people.

I commend my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for driving forward the ambition to get 880,000 pensioners signed up to pension credit. I really hope that people will test the system. There are 243 questions on the questionnaire, and then of course there is a nine-week wait for it to be processed, but we must drive that forward. The last Government failed in that endeavour.

We must also protect those that who do not apply. Many may not for a reason; we know that. They may have dementia, and the application is complex and stressful. Perhaps there is pride involved as well. We are talking about men and women who worked hard all their lives—they might have put a little bit aside or they might not—and ultimately we need to help them.

Then there are the million people who are above the threshold. They too need support, because they are fuel-poor and will struggle this winter. As the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham said, the cold puts greater demands on a person’s body. The body fights back but, sadly, as it does, people are at risk of heart attacks, strokes and worse. Of course, respiratory diseases prey on the most frail and vulnerable. When we look at where those people will go, we see that they will be queuing up at the GP and looking to the NHS. Sadly, many will not be with us.

It is with my conscience that I cannot vote for these measures, but I am determined to work with the Government to find mitigation, which is absolutely crucial. Age UK and many other charities are saying that it is too late to find alternatives; they say delay. I say, let us delay. Let us get this right—we cannot afford not to.