Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Steve Webb)]

With permission, I will answer this along with Questions 7, 8 and 16.

We have today published a document analysing the pension outcomes of this group of women. Overwhelmingly, women in this group—who reach state pension age up to three years before a man born the same day—would get more pension benefits over their lives than a man with the same national insurance record.

[Mr Speaker]

The Minister is a man of formidable intellect and therefore I hesitate ordinarily to disagree with him, but I think that the grouping is with Questions 6, 7 and 16. I hope he does not mind.

[Ian Murray]

The Minister may have a formidable intellect but I am going to disagree with him. As he will know, half a million women born between 1952 and 1953, many of whom will have celebrated mother’s day yesterday, will lose out on this single-tier pension. Will he apologise to the 700 women in my constituency who are affected and have written to me? Will he do something before they lose out?

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[Mr Speaker]

Order. The hon. Member for Dudley North (Ian Austin) is noisier in heckling the Secretary of State than he was in heckling me at Essex university 30 years ago. He needs to calm down.

[Mr Duncan Smith]

With respect, Mr Speaker, the hon. Gentleman’s noise covers a complete lack of intelligence. That is what I would say. Let me bring something forward—[Interruption.] No, monkeys can jump around, but the noise they make is not necessarily relevant. Let me tell the hon. Gentleman about his own area. In Dudley, which I think he might know, the National Housing Federation estimates that there are 2,000 households under-occupying—in other words, with spare rooms. It also estimates that there are 1,500 families in overcrowded accommodation. In other words, if property is properly managed, we might get those who are overcrowded into decent-size accommodation. When will the Opposition moan about that?

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[Mr Duncan Smith]

We have put—and will continue to do so—large numbers of internet access devices in jobcentres, so people will automatically get help and support when they go in. We are talking and working with local authorities to ensure that people will be able to gain immediate access through libraries and all other local authority outlets. We are also working with individuals to make sure that those who have computers at home fully understand how to use the system. The truth is that this will be helpful. The Opposition seem to occasionally miss the fact that 92% of advertised vacancies require basic IT skills and that if people do not have the ability to go on a computer, they cannot apply for the job.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Ruffley. Not here.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

22. How many people are in receipt of out-of-work benefits; and what assessment he has made of the level of inactivity in (a) Stafford constituency and (b) England.

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[Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

T3. Does my right hon. Friend agree that for Opposition Members to talk of the spare bedroom subsidy as a tax shows a profound lack of understanding on their part of what a tax actually is?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I say gently to the hon. Lady that Ministers have no responsibility for the Opposition’s use of terminology. It is better that we leave it there. There has been a very full exchange on that subject.

[Mr Liam Byrne (Birmingham, Hodge Hill) (Lab)]

May I start by thanking the Secretary of State for briefing me and my right hon. Friend the Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms) on his plans for urgent legislation, about which his Department has commented in The Daily Telegraph this morning? Both he and I believe that sanctions are vital to give back-to-work programmes their bite. However, when he signed off the 2011 regulations that created sanctions for the Work programme, why did he not check that they were legally bullet proof?

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[Several hon. Members]

rose—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am sorry, but we must now move on.