Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Timms and Deirdre Costigan

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Stephen Timms]

The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. There are excellent examples of job carving for people with complex needs, and we need more of that. We look forward to the report being submitted soon by Sir Charlie Mayfield on what more employers can do to open up opportunities for people out of work on disability grounds, and I think he will have some very interesting proposals.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

The last Conservative Government left so many young disabled people in Ealing Southall who wanted to work consigned to a lifetime on benefits, but at West Ealing jobcentre we are already seeing a difference being made, with £1.3 billion of funding for employment support from this Labour Government. Does the Minister agree that the Mayfield review offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to transform the workplace to make it more accessible for disabled people?

[Sir Stephen Timms]

I agree with my hon. Friend; she is absolutely right. Disengaging from work and learning in early adulthood can do lasting harm to career prospects and wellbeing. We are launching the youth guarantee so that all 18 to 21-year-olds in England, including disabled young people, can access quality training opportunities and apprenticeships or help to find work. I am glad to hear that things are developing so well in her constituency.

PIP Changes: Impact on Carer’s Allowance

Debate between Stephen Timms and Deirdre Costigan

Thursday 27th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sir Stephen Timms]

As the hon. Lady will have gathered, the impact assessment was published yesterday. The figures are there for everybody to see, and the impacts are across the UK; that is correct. I want the support that we provide to be sustainable in the long term for those who depend on it. That will be the impact of our changes to the personal independence payment. I also want better support for carers who want to combine working with caring. That is not always easy for people to do. We made a commitment to providing up to £1 billion in better employment support by the end of this Parliament. If we can use that to support carers as well as people who are sick and disabled, we could see a significant reduction in the number of people living in poverty.

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

Like many Members, I have had emails from constituents who are worried about these changes. Can the Minister confirm that the most disabled people, who will never work, will be protected; that he is consulting on a new higher rate of universal credit for those who are most severely disabled; and that the Chancellor’s £1 billion investment in employment support will help those disabled people who could work to find good-quality jobs, which are the best route out of poverty?

[Sir Stephen Timms]

I thank my hon. Friend for her work on disability employment, which has been an important contribution. I can give the reassurances she seeks.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Timms and Deirdre Costigan

Monday 7th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Deirdre Costigan (Ealing Southall) (Lab)]

T8. The Secretary of State has today published 31 research papers commissioned but hidden by the previous Government, which among other things provide valuable insight into the experience of disabled people applying for personal independence payments in order to live and work independently. Why does the Minister think the last Government chose not to publish these findings?

[Sir Stephen Timms]

My hon. Friend asks an extremely good question. The policy of the previous Government was to publish all such commissioned research reports within 12 weeks of receiving them. That policy was complied with until 2018, when Ministers stopped complying with it, so we have had to publish all these reports today. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State’s announcement is a vital first step in rebuilding the trust in the Department that was so shattered by the culture of secrecy, obfuscation and cover-up by Conservative Ministers.