Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Monday 19th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Let us be absolutely clear: the 2019 Conservative manifesto promised a radical strategy for disabled people before the end of 2020. It finally emerged in summer 2021 but was found to be illegal. It was quietly replaced by the disability action plan in December 2022, but six months on we still have very few details. We do not know whether it will be co-produced, and ultimately it is unlikely to result in any changes before the next election. How many years does the Conservative party need to take meaningful action? I will tell the Minister who is disappointed: disabled people after 13 years of this Conservative Government.

[Tom Pursglove]

We might need an Adjournment debate to correct the number of inaccuracies entailed within the hon. Lady’s question. This Government are committed to a disability action plan that I am confident will respond to the many issues that are raised with us by disabled people. We will have full consultation on those plans to ensure we get it right, and that will of course involve disabled people. This is an opportunity to get on and deliver in those areas over the next 12 to 18 months. I think that is a good thing that we should all be able to welcome.

Cost of Living: Financial Support for Disabled People

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Monday 22nd May 2023 Westminster Hall

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Robert, and I am grateful for the opportunity to respond on behalf of the shadow Work and Pensions team. Like the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows), I may repeat some stuff from last week, but it is important to do so, because we need changes so that we do not have to keep coming back and debating this issue. There is no doubt that disabled people are being disproportionately impacted by the cost of living crisis, and it is right—sadly—that we are debating it again in this place.

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova) for her passionate opening contribution, for sharing the experiences of so many people and for explaining why it is unacceptable that people live in those situations in 2023. Like her and others, I thank Abigail and Katy for organising the petition. I also pay tribute to the countless disabled people, friends, families, advocates, disabled people’s organisations and charities who signed the petitions that triggered this debate and who campaign tirelessly to promote disabled people’s rights.

The hon. Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard) eloquently put forward the extra costs of having a disability. As he said, the costs will vary, depending on an individual’s specific disability, but they may include assistive equipment, care and therapies. As noted in one of the petitions that triggered the debate, some people may need to run ventilators, pumps for feeding tubes and CPAP machines, and so the list goes on.

Disabled households tend to spend more on essential goods and services such as heating, food and travel, and some disabled people find it difficult to keep warm if their movement is restricted. As my hon. Friend the Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) said, those costs are also borne by unpaid carers, and we must look at the We Care Campaign. Some disabled people might need to purchase more expensive foods if they have specific dietary requirements or have difficulty preparing raw ingredients. As we know, high inflation in 2022 and 2023 has been driven by high food and energy costs. It stands to reason that disabled people are among those most affected by the cost of living crisis.

Last month, as my hon. Friends the Members for Battersea, for Worsley and Eccles South, and for Blaydon (Liz Twist) said, disability equality charity Scope released updated research on the extra costs associated with having a disability—the so-called disability price tag. When Scope last calculated the price tag in 2019, it stood at £583 per month; over the past four years, it has risen to a shocking £975 per month, equivalent to 63% of household income. That means that disabled households need to find almost £12,000 extra per year to achieve the same standard of living as non-disabled households.

My hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson) articulated the challenges for young people with cancer: not having built up a safety net; the extra costs they face; and, particularly, many missing hospital appointments due to not being able to afford their travel costs. That is wasting money in the system, as well as delaying essential treatment. It is heartbreaking.

[Sir Mark Hendrick in the Chair]

The impact of such rising costs is exacerbated further by the fact that disabled people also tend to have lower than average earnings. In a January 2023 report, the Resolution Foundation found that the gap in household income between adults with and without a disability was about 30% including disability benefits and 44% excluding them.

As we know, disabled people who are not able to work are entitled to claim income replacement benefits. In addition, all disabled people can claim extra-costs benefits to help cover the extra costs of having a disability. I am sure that the Minister, when he responds, will remind us that in his autumn statement the Chancellor committed to uprating benefits in line with inflation. That, however, only took effect from the start of the 2023-24 financial year. No doubt, the Minister present will also tell us that the Government have taken steps to support disabled people through the crisis by delivering the disability cost of living payments. As my hon. Friend the Member for Blaydon said, however, 80% of disabled people said that that was not enough to live on.

At a similar debate last week, I reminded the Minister that hundreds of thousands of people are no longer entitled to the warm home discount—many Members have mentioned that today—since the Government excluded those who claim disability living allowance, the personal independence payment and attendance allowance. I therefore hope he responds to our many questions about that.

In addition, Disability Rights UK and many others have said that the lack of meaningful increases in disability benefits over recent years means that the extra support given to disabled people has barely touched the sides. Trussell Trust figures show that even in early 2020, 62% of working-age people referred to food banks were disabled. A Mencap survey revealed that 35% of people with a learning disability have skipped meals to cut back on costs and that 38% had not turned on their heating despite being cold.

My hon. Friends the Members for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams) and for Battersea talked of the importance of incorporating the UNCRPD into law, so I will finish with what I said last week, because it relates to that: I ask the Minister to commit to work closely with disabled people and disabled people’s organisations to find a solution to this crisis.

[Sir Mark Hendrick (in the Chair)]

I remind hon. Members that there may be a Division shortly. If that is the case, I will suspend the sitting for 15 minutes.

--- Later in debate ---

[Tom Pursglove]

I will happily elaborate on those points. A lot of points were raised during the debate that I will respond to directly, but we are of course determined that the support must get to those who need it the most. That underpins the entire ethos behind the package of support that is being provided, and I will come to some of the specifics that have been raised shortly. As I said earlier, by 2027-28 total disability benefit spending is forecast to be over £41 billion higher in real terms compared with 2010-11. Spending on the extra cost disability benefits will alone amount to some £35 billion this year, all paid tax-free in addition to any other support, financial or practical, that disabled individuals may receive.

On the point raised by the hon. Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson), I will happily meet her and the charity to which she referred. I am always happy to meet colleagues. I think that colleagues would say that I am always willing to engage as a Minister, and that I try my best to say yes to as many requests as possible. It is really important to hear the experiences of disabled people and their representative organisations, so that we have a constructive dialogue, as the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Vicky Foxcroft), indicated is important. I completely accept that, and it is reflected in the work that I do, and the engagement that I have week to week. I will happily say yes to that engagement with the hon. Member for Putney. She talked about evaluation of the adequacy of the cost of living payments. I can confirm, as I did in our debate last week, that the Department is planning to do an evaluation relating to the cost of living payments later this year.

[Vicky Foxcroft]

What the Minister says about an evaluation is interesting. I have asked many parliamentary questions and made freedom of information requests and so forth around the Government publishing and being open and transparent with their evaluations. When that evaluation takes place, will he ensure that it is published?

[Tom Pursglove]

I will happily take away the shadow Minister’s request for publication of the evaluation.

[Vicky Foxcroft]

Is that a no?

People with Disabilities: Cost of Living

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Tuesday 16th May 2023 Westminster Hall

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq; I am very happy that you could make it here today. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows) for securing this important and timely debate. There is no doubt that disabled people are being disproportionately impacted by the cost of living crisis, and it is right that we are here to debate the issue. As the hon. Member outlined, a number of organisations have been in touch to outline their fears and worries about how disabled people are struggling, and I hope that the Minister will respond positively to the many points that the hon. Member and others have raised.

The economic impact of disability is significant. Many disabled people are excluded from full economic participation. According to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics, the employment rate for disabled people is just over 53%, which compares with almost 83% for non-disabled people. In other words, the disability employment gap stands at just under 30 percentage points. From speaking to many disabled people, I know that many of them want to work but are prevented from doing so by societal barriers.

The difficulties do not stop with getting into employment. Once they are in work, disabled people also face a disability pay gap. As of 2021, the gap stands at 13.8%, which means that disabled people earn almost £2 per hour less on average than non-disabled people. As other hon. Members have outlined, the other side of the economic impact is the extra cost associated with having a disability.

[Margaret Greenwood]

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. When I met representatives of Scope a few months ago, one issue they raised was the household support fund. It is designed to help vulnerable people across England and is administered by local authorities, but it has not helped many disabled people. Many people are not aware of its existence. Does she agree that that is shocking and that, as the Government have extended the fund until the end of March 2024, it is vital that people are made aware of the support that is available?

[Vicky Foxcroft]

My hon. Friend raises an important point, and I completely agree.

The costs will vary depending on the specific disability or disabilities that an individual has, but they might include assistive equipment, care and therapies—things that are essential for them to live their lives. My hon. Friend the Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams) raised the fear of more disabled people dying, and my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral West (Margaret Greenwood) rightly pointed to problems with PIP decisions and the need for the reform of the assessment process.

We all know that disabled households tend to spend more on essential goods and services such as heating, food and travel. As we have heard many times, last month the disability equality charity Scope released updated research on the extra costs associated with having a disability—the so-called disability price tag. When Scope last calculated the price tag in 2019, it stood at £583 per month. The update makes for very sober reading: over the last four years the price tag has risen to a shocking £975 per month, which is equivalent to 63% of household income. That means that disabled households need to find almost £12,000 extra per year to achieve the same standard of living as non-disabled households.

The hon. Member for North East Fife (Wendy Chamberlain) rightly articulated the escalating rise in food costs, which under the Conservatives have risen at the highest rate for more than 45 years. Depending on the nature of their disability, some people have difficulty preparing certain foods and rely on pre-prepared or convenience food, which frequently works out to be more expensive than buying raw ingredients. The price of ready meals rose by almost 22% in 2022. If someone has difficulty standing or sitting for long enough to prepare a meal from scratch, they might feel they have no choice other than to pay those prices.

The hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Sarah Green) raised the case of a constituent who could not afford their energy costs and had to switch off important equipment. Disabled people have been hit hard by rising energy prices not only because they might have difficulty keeping warm and spend more time at home, but because many have to run life-saving medical equipment. In the Commons Chamber at the end of last year, I raised a case in which the actor Kate Winslet stepped in to help a family faced with a £17,000 bill.

I am sure the Minister will tell us that the Government have taken steps to support disabled people through the crisis by delivering the disability cost of living payments. Disabled people may also benefit from broader support measures such as the energy price guarantee and other cost of living payments for those on means-tested benefits. What the Government will probably not remind us of is that hundreds of thousands of people are no longer entitled to the warm home discount since the Government excluded those who claim disability living allowance, personal independence payment and attendance allowance.

I find myself in the odd position of agreeing with the hon. Member for North Swindon (Justin Tomlinson) that we should abolish reassessments for conditions that we know will not improve or are deteriorating. I am interested in how the Minister will respond to that idea.

Among many others, Disability Rights UK has said that the support given to disabled people has barely touched the sides. Trussell Trust figures show that even in early 2020, 62% of working-age people referred to food banks were disabled. A Mencap survey has revealed that 35% of people with a learning disability have skipped meals to cut back on costs and 38% had not turned on their heating despite being cold. I could go on, but others have already stated the case very eloquently this morning, so I will finish by asking the Minister to commit to working closely with disabled people and disabled people’s organisations to find a sustainable solution to the crisis. As many have already said, they genuinely are the experts by experience.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Monday 24th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dame Eleanor Laing)]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

On a recent call with stakeholders in the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department revealed that only 11 individuals had so far been included in the severe disability test group, which, as the Minister knows, is aimed at simplifying the application process for those with the most severe disabilities and health conditions. Worryingly, there also appears to be very little clarity about the definition of severe disability. Despite that, the Department signalled that it was preparing to further roll out the group. Can the Minister confirm today whether that number is correct, provide further information on which individuals qualify, and confirm when the Department will start the roll-out?

[Tom Pursglove]

What I am certainly very willing to do is to provide further detail to the shadow Minister, separate from this afternoon’s proceedings. I am absolutely clear that the severe disability group has an important role to play, recognising the challenging conditions people have and that, for many, those conditions will not improve. I am keen to reduce the reassessment burden on people wherever we can, streamline processes, and ensure that people feel properly supported and properly cared for during the course of those processes. That is the right step to take. I am determined that we get this right. Exactly as I said just now, I want to work collaboratively and constructively as we move forward with the White Paper reforms. We have made commitments to test and trial various things, and we will get on and do that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Monday 6th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to the shadow Minister.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova) and I have asked numerous written questions about the shocking 461% increase in the number of personal independence payment claims disallowed for the non-return of the AR1 review form between 2017 and 2021. The Minister, sadly, has no idea why the increase has happened, or by extension whether vulnerable people are being left struggling to manage, as the Department does not collect information on the reasons for the non-return of the AR1 form. So I ask the Minister again today: when will he take action to investigate this issue?

[Tom Pursglove]

There may be many and varied reasons why individuals choose not to return the forms. [Interruption.] If the hon. Lady will allow me to answer the question, that would really benefit the House. The bottom line here is that there may be many and varied reasons why people do not return the forms, including their circumstances changing materially, but I am very happy to take the point away and look at it further.

Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Bill

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Friday 3rd March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

It is a genuine pleasure to respond to this debate from the Opposition Front Bench. I thank and congratulate the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye (Sally-Ann Hart) on bringing this important Bill to the House and on all her hard work in this area. We fully support the Bill and see it as a welcome step in the right direction. Like colleagues before me, I pay tribute to the many organisations who work tirelessly to support victims of domestic abuse and who have campaigned on this issue, particularly Refuge, Gingerbread and Surviving Economic Abuse.

As we have heard, the Bill—which I know is fully supported by the Government—will make important changes to legislation to allow the Child Maintenance Service to collect and make payments on behalf of victims of domestic abuse without the consent of the ex-partner. This will, I am absolutely sure, come as a huge relief to many.

However, the Opposition remain concerned that there is still outstanding work to be done. On Second Reading and in Committee, Opposition colleagues including my hon. Friends the Members for Reading East (Matt Rodda) and for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips) pressed the Department on the 4% charge payable by the receiving parent where collect and pay is used, and the hon. Member for South Cambridgeshire (Anthony Browne) has also raised that issue. In Committee, the Minister confirmed that the Government are

“willing to consider…where exemptions may be appropriate”.––[Official Report, Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Public Bill Committee, 14 December 2022; c. 9.]

That is encouraging, but I again stress our view that victims of domestic abuse should be exempt from paying the 4% fee. I am aware that they are exempt from paying the £20 application fee, which is absolutely right, but they are then effectively penalised every month simply for using a service that stops them having to have contact with their abusive ex-partner. I hope we can all agree that that is grossly unfair.

Colleagues have mentioned the evidence requirements, which will be set out in secondary legislation. In Committee, the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye stated:

“The aim is to produce evidence requirements that are sensitive to the needs of domestic abuse victims and that have been carefully evaluated and tested.”

She went on to state that she had received assurances that the Department will work with colleagues in the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and others

“to ensure that the definition of domestic abuse is consistent…across Government.”––[Official Report, Child Support Collection (Domestic Abuse) Public Bill Committee, 14 December 2022; c. 4.]

I take this opportunity to stress, as we have at all stages of the Bill, that it is vital for Ministers to get the evidence requirement right, as the effectiveness of the Bill hinges on it.

More widely, I call on the Government to ensure that victims of domestic abuse feel as safe as possible when using the CMS. Organisations such as Gingerbread and Surviving Economic Abuse have called for statutory guidance to set out the training CMS staff receive on domestic abuse, and in Committee my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Yardley pushed the training point. The Minister responded with robust promises that CMS processes and procedures have been strengthened substantially and that caseworkers are equipped with a toolkit to support customers experiencing abuse. I am sure we have all dealt with domestic abuse cases in the course of our constituency casework and seen at first hand how difficult it can be for victims to leave. The Government must do all they can to equip them with the tools they need to move forward with their lives, including on the vital issue of financial stability.

I will finish on a quick point about enforcement. Currently, very little appears to be done in cases where the paying parent does not meet their obligations. In cases of domestic abuse, that may leave already vulnerable victims and their families destitute. Although that falls slightly outside the direct scope of the Bill, I would be grateful for reassurances from the Minister in this area.

Despite those continuing concerns, I very much welcome the Bill and congratulate the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye wholeheartedly on getting it through to this stage. I hope the Government will continue to build on this legislation and, more widely, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, to deliver a strong, co-ordinated cross-Government approach to domestic abuse.

--- Later in debate ---

[Vicky Foxcroft]

I thank the Minister for her commitment to look into the issue and that it will be done in future. Can I press her further to give us some idea of when that might be?

[Mims Davies]

The hon. Lady should expect it to be early 2024, but I am keen to get on with it. I hope that is a timetable that we can stick to, but we will do our best to bring it about sooner.

On the Northern Ireland amendments, I reiterate that it is important for the measure to cover the whole United Kingdom. I thank all hon. Members and assure them that the Child Maintenance Service is fit for purpose and fully committed to supporting all parents to ensure that they have safe and agreeable arrangements that work for them. I pay huge credit to my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye for bringing the Bill forward and navigating its safe passage. I am pleased to reiterate the Government’s support for the Bill. We will continue to support and guide it as it moves through Parliament.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Monday 5th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Many disabled people are having to make unimaginable sacrifices to keep life-saving equipment running in the face of huge energy bills. For instance, Carolynne Hunter’s 12-year-old daughter Freya requires oxygen for chronic breathing problems, and the bills that she had to pay to keep her daughter alive rose to £17,000. Thankfully, Kate Winslet stepped in and donated the full amount after being “absolutely destroyed” by the family’s story, but disabled people should not have to rely on celebrities to swoop in and save the day. When will the Government finally ensure that all disabled people are receiving the support they so desperately need?

[Tom Pursglove]

I thank the shadow Minister for raising the issue of Carolynne’s situation. I am, of course, under no illusions about how challenging many people are finding the current circumstances and climate. We are providing the package of support that I have already described—which is the right thing to do—in addition to the discretionary help that is there to address particularly pressing needs in individual cases. As the hon. Lady will know, the Chancellor announced in the autumn statement that as part of ongoing future work we would be considering, for instance, social tariffs, and I also want to look into what more we can do in the longer term to help families deal with continuing significant costs.

Draft Biocidal Products (Health and Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd November 2022 General Committees

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairpersonship, Mr Robertson. I thank the Minister for presenting the statutory instrument. We do not consider it controversial, but I have a few questions for her.

This is one of the many statutory instruments being introduced by the Government as part of the return of powers from the European Union. This particular instrument aims to

“extend the legal deadlines in place for processing biocidal product authorisation applications by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) acting as competent authority.”

Importantly, the regulations will ensure that there is sufficient time to process applications and that biocidal products can remain legally on the market in Great Britain, as intended by the legislative framework. They will ultimately ensure business as usual—something the Labour party will always back. I do, however, have questions for the Minister.

What would the Minister say to businesses and the general public about the need for this SI? As I, the Minister and many Members here will know, following EU exit we no longer have access to the vital databases storing historical EU reports. These reports contain information concerning the evaluations that EU member states carried out to inform decisions on the approval of biocidal active substances and the authorisation of biocidal products. Although some of that information has been published, some aspects are confidential and not published at all. Many will worry that the consequences of EU exit have simply not been planned properly. How could the Government not prepare for this or see it coming? The scale of potential disruption caused by our exit from the EU sits firmly with successive Tory Governments.

I hope the Minister can also provide clarification on the extra workload. The Minister will know that the transitional arrangements requiring the resubmission of applications to the HSE have resulted in a one-off influx of simultaneous applications around transitional deadlines, and this has caused a temporary backlog of applications. One of the main reasons for this SI, as the Minister outlined, is that the HSE will not be able to meet the legal deadlines for processing authorisations set out in GB BPR. Why is the Minister asking the HSE to do more with less? In 2010, Government funding to the HSE stood at £231 million; 12 years later, it stands at £178 million. That is a cut of £53 million. It is simply baffling to ask the HSE to take on more following the EU exit. Will the Minister clarify what extra support is being put in place to support the increased workload?

I hope the Minister will remember that this SI covers material that must be handled with care. The HSE deserves the proper support to manage the increased workload. Not doing so would leave the public at risk, and that is something I am sure we can agree no one wants. I appreciate the Minister laying this SI before Parliament. As I said, it is one that we will support, but it would be helpful if the Minister could answer a few of those questions.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Monday 31st October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Too many disabled people have been disproportionately hit by the cost of living crisis, with extra costs of over £600 a year. Sadly, we have seen too many unable to cope with this. The Information Commissioner ruled that the DWP unlawfully prevented the release of over 20 reports into the deaths of benefit claimants. We must be able to scrutinise whether the actions taken by the DWP were sufficient or timely enough to prevent the harms identified from happening again. So will the new Secretary of State agree to publish these and all other secret reports—and a yes or no would actually suffice?

[Mims Davies]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question, and I understand the Opposition have an interest in such reports. However, my role at the DWP is about people—helping people up and down the land—and that is what we are doing for people with disabilities. With the extra costs part of the disability payment, about 6 million will be helped by the extra one-off payment of £150, ensuring that we all across the DWP are focused on the most vulnerable.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Monday 11th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister, Vicky Foxcroft.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

The Government-commissioned National Centre for Social Research report confirms that many disabled people live in poverty. Ministers claim that work is a route out of poverty, yet the disability employment gap remains stubbornly at 28%. We have a bureaucratic Access to Work scheme, with an ineffective spending cap, which, ironically, is not available in all accessible formats. A mere £128 million is spent on it, compared with £64 billion on disability benefits. What does the Minister say to those disabled people who want to work, but who are faced with a system that, frankly, is not fit for purpose?

[Chloe Smith]

I think the hon. Member is wrong to say that the disability employment gap is static at 28%. It is moving in the right direction, which is important to acknowledge. While we have made progress, we need to be able to make more. It is important to recognise what has gone on, in that we have more disabled people in work and the disability employment gap is reducing. We need Access to Work to be a strong part of the solution. There is a great deal of work going on to transform Access to Work to make it even more effective in helping disabled people to start, stay and succeed in work. Those will all be continued priorities of this Government and this Department.