Oral Answers to Questions

Thérèse Coffey Excerpts

Monday 7th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con)]

1. What steps she is taking to support progression out of low pay jobs.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse Coffey)]

I associate myself with your comments, Mr Speaker, on the magnificent service of Her Majesty the Queen.

People can use the Train and Progress scheme to access courses so that they can progress out of low-paid jobs. We are appointing progression champions throughout the country and, from April onwards, will open up access to work coach support to address skills barriers or wider barriers to progression among people who are already in work.

[Peter Aldous]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend and constituency neighbour for that answer. In sectors such as offshore wind and nuclear power in Suffolk, either there are skills shortages or new opportunities are emerging. Currently, many people are not able to acquire the skills needed for such jobs because of the rigid and complex universal credit conditionality rules. Will my right hon. Friend agree to a review of universal credit conditionality, as she and I have discussed and in accordance with the new clause that I have tabled to the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill?

[Dr Coffey]

As my hon. Friend is my neighbour, I am conscious of the opportunities in his constituency thanks to the Government investment, alongside that of private investors, in our progress to net zero. I do not agree with him that we need to reshape student finance in such a way; that is not the purpose of universal credit, and only a limited number of people can undertake that training. I assure him that Train and Progress, which I mentioned, the lifetime skills guarantee and the opening up of access, as well as apprenticeships to get into a sector in the first place, are better ways to make sure that we help people to get on in work.

[Alison McGovern (Wirral South) (Lab)]

I similarly associate myself and all my colleagues with your remarks before questions, Mr Speaker.

The Government know that, as the hon. Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) suggests, there is a problem with progression out of low pay, because they commissioned the Ruby McGregor-Smith review, which reported in July last year. In January this year, the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Mims Davies), told me that the Government would publish their response “shortly”. Meanwhile, kickstart has failed to deliver and, as the journalist Ed Conway pointed out this afternoon, in the past year the average house has earned more than the average 18 to 29-year-old in this country. That is a disgrace. Will the Secretary of State announce today when she will at last publish the Government’s response to the Ruby McGregor-Smith review of low pay? Will she say how the Government propose to make progress on two key issues that the review identified: public transport and childcare?

[Dr Coffey]

I reject the hon. Lady’s assertion that kickstart is not working. More than 130,000 young people have now had access to a proper job in which they have gained employability skills, so it has been an effective response. At the same time, she will be aware that there are more people in work on payroll than there were before the pandemic. People are making good progress in that regard.

The review is important. I will be candid and say that I am the person who has held it up, because I want to make sure we have got all the questions answered as best we can. Meanwhile, we continue to work across Government on some of the hurdles that people are trying to get over, such as childcare and similar issues. I hope that the response will be published shortly.

[Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) (Lab)]

2. What assessment she has made of the economic impact of women claiming benefits after leaving the workplace early due to symptoms of the menopause.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

5. What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on support for vulnerable children.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse Coffey)]

I met the Secretary of State for Education in January to discuss shared priorities on a wide variety of issues, including vulnerable children.

[Robert Halfon]

My right hon. Friend will be aware that our Education Committee is doing an inquiry into the educational outcomes and opportunities of children in care. We know that 41% of care leavers aged 19 to 21 are not in education, employment or training. I welcome the Government’s bursary scheme, but a care leaver over the age of 21 is eligible to receive the bursary for apprenticeships only if they are in education, employment or training. Will my right hon. Friend look into the policy and work with colleagues across Government to see what more can be done to support the 59% of care leavers not eligible for this support?

[Dr Coffey]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s passion for this particular group of people looking to find work. This is really a matter for the Secretary of State for Education, but the information I have been provided is that all care leavers aged up to 25 who take up an apprenticeship are considered to be in education or training and therefore would be eligible for the bursary.

[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)]

From April, the Scottish Government are doubling the Scottish child payment to £20 a week a child. The Scottish child payment, together with the Best Start grant and Best Start Foods, will provide a package of financial support worth £8,400 by the time eligible families’ first child turns six. None of this support is available anywhere else in the UK. Have the UK Government considered matching the level of support that the SNP Scottish Government are offering to families with children in Scotland?

[Dr Coffey]

I do not think we have undertaken that assessment. Of course, a benefit of being part of the United Kingdom is the subsequent extra money per head that is given through the Barnett formula, and the Scottish Government can decide what to do with that. I am sure they will be carefully costing their independence things, or that sort of financial support will simply not be there.

[John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)]

6. What progress is being made by the work of armed forces champions in jobcentres.

--- Later in debate ---

[John Penrose (Weston-super-Mare) (Con)]

11. What steps she is taking to (a) measure, (b) improve and (c) publish the performance of work coaches in jobcentres.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse Coffey)]

We often hear in this House about honourable colleagues going into their jobcentres and seeing the marvellous work of work coaches, and we see that by the number of people getting back into work. However, we want to constantly improve the performance of our work coaches in terms of outcomes for people and we will continue to do that.

[John Penrose]

I completely agree that good work coaches can level up opportunities by breaking glass ceilings that hold people back, but inevitably some will be better than others, as we have seen in schools and other public services. If we publish those findings, every jobseeker and their MP will want to know how their local service compares and how it might be improved, so will my right hon. Friend meet me to discuss this as outlined in my recently published work, “Poverty Trapped”?

[Dr Coffey]

I do not agree with my hon. Friend’s suggestion about the external assessment. I have asked one of my team to look into his report and I am sure we can arrange a suitable meeting, but I want to assure him that all new work coaches are undertaking a level 4 City & Guilds qualification in service delivery.

[Margaret Ferrier (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Ind)]

The DWP is looking to cut thousands of fixed-term contract work coaches at EO level from jobcentres but reportedly will retain almost all staff at the lower-paid AO grade. Have the Government considered how this will impact on lower-grade staff in terms of workload and stress and how those losing their jobs will afford their living costs until they can secure a new role?

[Dr Coffey]

The hon. Lady will recognise that this is an operational matter, but she is incorrect; I am conscious that she may have been given that information separately. Last week the permanent secretary outlined the start of the process potentially for people on fixed-term contracts. We need to make sure we have the work coaches in the right parts of the country where they are most needed for both current claimants and anticipated future demand.

[Huw Merriman (Bexhill and Battle) (Con)]

12. What steps she is taking to support autistic people into the workforce.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse Coffey)]

I am pleased that we have launched Way to Work to help job-ready people get into jobs as quickly as possible. The new approach is focused in particular on bringing many more employers directly into the jobcentre so that we can accelerate the process from application to interview and job offer. In essence, given the number of vacancies right now—particularly in economically important sectors—it is important that we take the ABC approach: any job leads to a better job, which leads to a career.

[Mike Kane]

What assessment has the Secretary of State made about how the two-child benefit cap negatively affects faith communities, where larger families are more prevalent?

[Dr Coffey]

The hon. Member and I are both practising Catholics, and I am conscious of the point he is making. However, I am also conscious that the benefit cap takes into account the amount of benefits available to a family compared with median income. It is important that we keep that approach, recognising in particular that the cap can be lifted when people earn, I think, about £605 a month.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

T3. Will my hon. Friend ensure that veterans who leave the services with skills in strategic sectors such as heavy goods vehicles are given support through the Way to Work scheme?

[Jonathan Ashworth (Leicester South) (Lab/Co-op)]

Mr Speaker, may I associate myself with your remarks and thanks directed at Her Majesty the Queen?

I read in the newspapers at the weekend that the Secretary of State is considering resigning over the Prime Minister’s rule breaking and partying. Before she heads for the exit door, given that 550,000 children are destitute, half a million children do not have a suitable bed to sleep in and she has cut universal credit by £1,000, why is she pushing through real-terms cuts to support that mean 10 million households will lose £290? How many more children will be in poverty as a result?

[Dr Coffey]

Mr Speaker, I want to assure you, the right hon. Gentleman and the House that I am fully behind our Prime Minister as he gets on with the job. Not only has he got Brexit done, but we are getting more people on to the payroll and achieving all the other things voted for by the British public in 2019. What I will say to the right hon. Gentleman is that I do not recognise some of the numbers he used. However, I am conscious of what we will be voting on later. I am also conscious that elements were based on the fact that it was a temporary uplift to universal credit, recognising the impact of what was happening early on, as people new to the benefit system were able to get a similar amount as people on statutory—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Can I just remind Members that topicals are meant to be short and punchy? We cannot have long statements, because there is a whole list of Members I still have to get in. That is why I am trying to cough: to speed you up a little—nothing else, nothing personal.

[Dr Coffey]

Cutting to the chase, by getting more people into work, people will be better off not only financially but in other aspects of their future prospects.

[Jonathan Ashworth]

The shadow whipping operation will be pleased that the karaoke queen is standing by the party and the Prime Minister. The right hon. Lady talks about getting people into work. Earlier today, the pensions Minister, the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman) said that pensioner poverty has gone down. However, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report shows that pensioner poverty is increasing. Why is she today pushing through real-terms cuts to the pension credit and the basic state pension, which will result in more pensioners in poverty?

[Dr Coffey]

As we will discuss later, the one-year approach we take every year is the basis on which almost all benefits are uplifted. We will continue to have that consistent approach.

[Mr Richard Holden (North West Durham) (Con)]

T5. Last Friday, I paid another visit to Consett jobcentre in my constituency to see the great work it is doing. This Friday, I am hosting an apprenticeships fair in my patch. Auto-enrolment in pensions has transformed the lives of millions of people in constituencies across the country, including in mine. Those aged 18 to 22, who will be attending my apprenticeships fair and going into work, will not benefit yet from auto-enrolment. Will the Minister confirm that he will look at that and do what he can to ensure that everybody in work benefits from auto-enrolment in Britain?

[David Linden (Glasgow East) (SNP)]

We know the benefits regime is counterproductive and punitive. In 2016, the National Audit Office told the Department for Work and Pensions to carry out its own research into benefit sanctions. The Department is now refusing to release that research, despite promises to Committees of both Houses, because it was

“unable to assess the deterrent effect”.

Why is the Secretary of State ruthlessly pushing ahead with the renewed sanctions regime if almost six years later it still cannot find any evidence that they work?

[Dr Coffey]

The sanction regime has not changed. In fact, sanctions have been at a record low over the past year. We are applying a sensible approach, recognising the number of vacancies, so that we can help people to get back into work as quickly as possible.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

T8. When the lovely Karen came in to celebrate her new job, I saw at first-hand the impact of work coaches like Victor and Harlon at Eastbourne’s Jobcentre Plus. The untold story is perhaps how brilliantly the same Jobcentre Plus can support employers. What work is the Minister and the Department doing to promote that aspect of their work, so we can double down on local unfilled vacancies?

[Richard Burgon (Leeds East) (Lab)]

T2. Kevin Dooley, the father of a constituent of mine, Leanne Dooley, took his own life after the DWP decided to stop his benefits. Leanne was one of five bereaved families who wrote to the Secretary of State calling for an urgent public inquiry into deaths related to the benefit system and asking for a meeting. Six months’ on, the Secretary of State has not replied. Will she agree today to meet that group of bereaved families, including my constituent, Leanne?

[Dr Coffey]

I am very sorry for the family of the individual to whom the hon. Gentleman refers. It is the role of the coroners to undertake appropriate investigations. I am surprised, and am sorry to hear, that the letter has not gone back. It is not my intention to meet them, recognising the ongoing work that we continue to do to try and provide service to such people.

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

Afghan refugees in north Hampshire have been supported through the hard work of many organisations, including our local jobcentre. Many of those refugees now want to get back into employment. What specific support is my hon. Friend giving to that group?

--- Later in debate ---

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

T7. Recent Citizens Advice research shows that an astonishing 80% of people with no recourse to public funds are behind with one or more essential bills, and 60% are behind on rent. When will the Secretary of State and the Home Secretary get together to stop forcing people into poverty through these abysmal no recourse to public funds rules?

[Dr Coffey]

As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, it is for the Home Office to make that decision, and of course, people who are in that situation can apply to the Home Office for it to be changed. It is a fundamental principle that if people are coming into the country, we want people to be able to support themselves, rather than rely on extra support to which they knew they would not be entitled.

[Ruth Edwards (Rushcliffe) (Con)]

Jobcentre staff across the country are doing excellent work getting people back into jobs, but a team in the east midlands led by my constituent Nicola Brindley are also doing fantastic work on top of their day jobs to spot jobcentre users who are victims of domestic abuse, and connect them to the help they need. The scheme is called J9; it is named after a lady called Janine Mundy, who was murdered by her former husband. Will the Minister join me in thanking Nicola Brindley and her amazing team of volunteers, and will she come to Nottingham to meet with the J9 team and learn more about the incredible work they do?

[Taiwo Owatemi (Coventry North West) (Lab)]

T10. A constituent sent me the following message: “I am concerned for April 1st this year. My fire will be turned off and I will start to feel the cold. At seventy eight years, I did not expect to face, like many others, a six hundred pound rise in my gas bill which I cannot afford. How come this government is not bothered about the people?”That plea comes on top of the news that, for millions of people, the Government’s new energy bill rebate will be wiped out by a real-terms cut to their pension. What will the Secretary of State say to my constituent and to all the pensioners whose hardship will be compounded by the Government’s flawed energy rebate plan?

[Dr Coffey]

What I will say is that we continue to try to support pensioners through aspects of pension credit, but it was inaccurate to say that what was proposed was a statistical anomaly. That is why we took the steps we took, and that is why we will continue the debate later today.

[Ian Levy (Blyth Valley) (Con)]

I recently hosted the first ever jobs fair in Blyth Valley. It was an amazing success, with more than 50 local businesses taking part. Will my hon. Friend join me in thanking the Port of Blyth, the DWP and all the local firms that made it possible?

--- Later in debate ---

[Amy Callaghan (East Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

In July 2020, I met my constituent Stacey Conlin—not at a constituency surgery, but in the physically disabled rehabilitation unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. We recovered from our strokes alongside each other, and I got to hear her story.

Too many people like Stacey have survived catastrophic life events only to be let down by this Government’s woeful welfare system—unable to work and unable to pay for basic necessities that many of us take for granted. Will the Secretary of State commit to revisiting the current levels of universal credit so that stroke survivors such as Stacey can fully live their lives instead of barely getting by?

[Dr Coffey]

I am very conscious of the important work that the hon. Lady has delivered, including the status that was addressed for her, and I am conscious that my hon. Friend the Member for Hexham (Guy Opperman) and I have also undertaken such elements in the national scheme. I am more than happy to find out about the specific example that the hon. Lady refers to, but I know that generally we are trying to make sure that this is the right approach and that people have that access to work.