Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Steve Webb and Anne McGuire

Monday 18th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Anne McGuire (Stirling) (Lab)]

How long does the Minister anticipate that post offices will have to wait before they are in a position to take applications for universal credit?

[Steve Webb]

Just to be clear, people can receive universal credit into an account accessible at a post office already. Universal credit obviously has an online application process, so if there is access to the internet at local post offices, that can be done already.

Housing Benefit (Under-occupancy Penalty)

Debate between Steve Webb and Anne McGuire

Wednesday 27th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Steve Webb]

We are always happy to meet my hon. Friend. He raises an important issue about rural areas, and that will obviously be germane to some of the concerns that members of the nationalist parties have raised today—

[Mrs Anne McGuire (Stirling) (Lab)]

And others.

[Steve Webb]

And others, yes. As this is a nationalist debate, that seemed to be a relevant remark.

In response to concerns expressed in the House of Lords, we are going to undertake a rolling two-year research programme into the impact of these and other changes, and the impact on rural households will be one of the factors that we will look at specifically. Wales and Scotland are included in the scope of the research. We are happy to look at the allocation of discretionary housing payments, and at whether we have done enough justice to the needs of rural areas, compared with other areas. We will keep that matter under review.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Steve Webb and Anne McGuire

Monday 22nd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Steve Webb]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point, and it is one that we are aware of. However, he will be encouraged to learn that in the past decade, life expectancy for both manual workers and non-manual workers, for example, has risen by two years for men. Although there are still differences, both groups are seeing improvements in life expectancy.

[Mrs Anne McGuire (Stirling) (Lab)]

2. What steps his Department plans to take to assist employers to provide real-time pay data for universal credit computations.

Work and Pensions

Debate between Steve Webb and Anne McGuire

Monday 6th September 2010 Ministerial Corrections

[Mrs McGuire]

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the change in expenditure in the Financial Assistance Scheme attributable to the use of the consumer prices index for pension indexation in the next five years.

[Official Report, 27 July 2010, Vol. 514, c. 1154-1155W.]

Letter of correction from Steve Webb:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the right hon. Member for Stirling (Mrs McGuire) in response to Named Day PQ 10/11057 on 27 July 2010.

The answer given was as follows (error indicated by italics):

[Steve Webb]

The figures show the estimated annual reduction in Financial Assistance Scheme expenditure as a result of switching the indexation of payments in payment and revaluation of payments in deferment from RPI to CPI from 2011.

Figures are in cash terms and are rounded to the nearest £100,000. The reduction represents 0.1% of estimated total FAS spending in each year.