Oral Answers to Questions

John Bercow Excerpts

Monday 24th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mike Penning]

There are contractual requirements on both providers, and if they do not meet them they will be penalised financially. I also have to say that there are internal delays in DWP, so I am not going to pass the buck entirely on to them, but we will address the problem, and we are doing so. There are measures that we introduced last week which I hope will address the situation with an accumulative effect.

[Mr Speaker]

Mr Kevin Brennan.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

It is taking months—

[Mr Speaker]

Question 13 is a good idea. The hon. Gentleman, not for the first time, and probably not for the last, is ahead of himself.

[Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab)]

13. What recent assessment he has made of the performance of Capita in relation to personal independence payment assessments.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I have said constantly and I continue to say that we will not be giving out targets for dates. As I said earlier, roll-out has begun. I invite the hon. Gentleman to go to any one of the centres and talk to the staff there and to the claimants. He will find that what is happening is a real improvement in their seeking work and getting work, and in the advisers being able to apply themselves to those with the greatest difficulty. Universal credit will have rolled through by 2016, as I said, with all those benefits merged into one, and people will be claiming universal credit, not any other benefit.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Laura Sandys.

[Laura Sandys]

No. 18, Mr Speaker.

[Mr Speaker]

The hon. Lady’s question has been grouped with 14 and therefore she asks her question now.

[Laura Sandys]

Thank you so much—very informative!

[Mr Speaker]

It is always useful to have a bit of information, and I endeavour to be helpful to Members. The hon. Lady need not sound quite so surprised.

--- Later in debate ---

[Rachel Reeves]

Yes, we have put in a freedom of information request, because we did not think that the Secretary of State’s numbers were correct, and, as it turns out, they are not. The FOI request shows that with 194 out of 346 councils having responded so far, a staggering 21,500 people have been wrongly paying the bedroom tax, including 4,198 in Tory local authorities, so perhaps they have got their numbers wrong too. There are 275 in Tory Chester, 200 in Tory Peterborough, 234—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I am sorry, but the question is too long. I have got Back Benchers to accommodate, so I know that the final sentence, which will be a short one, is on its way.

[Rachel Reeves]

Instead of trying stealthily to close the loophole, will the Secretary of State now do the right thing and scrap the cruel and hated bedroom tax?