argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Auto-enrolment — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: What assessment his Department has made of recent trends in the number of people saving into a pension scheme as a result of auto-enrolment.; What assessment his Department has made of recent trends in the number of people saving into a pension scheme as a result of auto-enrolment.
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): I can supply the hon. Gentleman with evidence that we have transformed saving over the past few years. People have often said that young people in particular do not want to save, but the facts I have just put before the House suggest that that is no longer the case. If the hon. Gentleman is advocating taking away all tax relief for pensions, I would be interested in his ideas—as, I am sure, would his own Front Benchers.
Learning Difficulties: Support — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): The Green Paper consultation, which concluded on 17 February, asked a range of questions about how we can better support people into employment and highlighted learning disabilities as an area for further work. We will bring forward shortly schemes to support this group in their ambitions.
Learning Difficulties: Support — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
James Michael Ellwood Berry (Conservative, Centre-right): Will my hon. Friend join me in praising the work of the Balance community interest company in Surbiton, which provides employment support for people with learning difficulties? I urge her to raise awareness of organisations such as Balance and, indeed, of the Government’s own Access to Work scheme, so that everyone knows what support is available out there.
Learning Difficulties: Support — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): We are looking at a range of things we can do in particular to help young people with learning disabilities, with autism and with mental health conditions. They need more options available to them, and they need more financial support in some of those areas. I am happy to look at what the hon. Lady suggests if she would like to write to me with evidence that these things are happening.
Learning Difficulties: Support — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): Governments of all persuasions have tried and failed to shift the employability rate of those with learning disabilities from 6%. That rate is an absolute waste of the huge amounts of talent and enthusiasm that are out there. That is exactly why we brought forward plans to open up apprenticeships and to have a special disability apprenticeship scheme. Please would the Minister update the House on where we are with creating those opportunities?
Learning Difficulties: Support — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Education
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for drawing attention to the apprenticeship scheme. We wish to open up the opportunities such schemes bring to those with learning disabilities, and we are making good progress on that with the Department for Education, but we need to do other things as well. When we talk about people with learning disabilities, we are talking about a huge range of individuals. We have not done enough for those who are at the highest-need end of that spectrum, and I hope we will be able to do more shortly.
Personal Independence Payments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I receive regular representations from disability organisations and hon. Members regarding personal independence payments. As I have previously stated, we want to do more to create real-time feedback across the whole country. We will shortly be introducing service user panels to feed directly back from claimants on PIP and employment and support allowance.
Personal Independence Payments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
David Anthony Andrew Amess (Conservative, Centre-right): Unfortunately, I have to tell my hon. Friend that I am still receiving complaints from constituents about the procedures regarding personal independence payments, so what is she doing to improve the process, reduce delays and support people through what is often a traumatic assessment process?
Personal Independence Payments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): The goal is clearly swift, accurate and admin-lite assessments. Good progress has already been made in many areas—for example, reducing the average time it takes for a claim from point of registration to decision by more than three quarters from over 40 weeks to 10 weeks as of October last year—but there is more to do. One reason we have set up the service user panels is that it is incredibly important to be aware that, while things may be generally going well, there are certain hotspot areas where they are not, and identifying those in real time is critical—but there are many other things in the PIP improvement plan as well.
Personal Independence Payments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Transportation
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): There are 70,000 more people making use of the Motability scheme than there were in 2010. The hon. Lady will know that there are improvements that we want to make to the Motability scheme. We have been working very closely with that independent organisation; we are now attending its board meetings and are able to work much more strategically. I have spoken at length, so I will not repeat it, about the areas where we wish to see better customer service. We hope to be able to make some announcements shortly.
Personal Independence Payments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Law and Crime
Philip Thomas Hollobone (Conservative, Centre-right): Will the Minister make strong representations to the Ministry of Justice that it should reduce the length of time that unsuccessful claimants are having to wait for their tribunal, so that they can process their claim successfully?
Personal Independence Payments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): We are concerned with all aspects of the claims process, whether for ESA or PIP. We want this to be swift and admin-lite, and we have some opportunities, which I have already outlined, to achieve both those things.
Personal Independence Payments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I welcome the hon. Lady to her post. She is not correct: 6% of the caseload is overturned, but there are many things that we wish to do to ensure that that is improved. Some opportunities will come after the consultation in the Green Paper with the reforms that we want to make to this part of the system to improve it and reduce the administrative burden on those also claiming PIP.
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What estimate his Department has made of the number of households in which a person in work will receive less income in universal credit than they would have received in tax credits.
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): It is not meaningful to compare against an unchanged tax credits system, but the national living wage, help with childcare and the straightforward taper in universal credit all mean that people can earn more, and a higher income tax allowance means that they can keep more of it.
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What estimate his Department has made of the number of households in which a person in work will receive less income in universal credit than they would have received in tax credits.
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): It is indeed a dramatic and critical reform for our welfare system. I will highlight just one statistic: for every 100 people who moved into work under the old jobseeker’s allowance system, 113 do so under universal credit.
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What estimate his Department has made of the number of households in which a person in work will receive less income in universal credit than they would have received in tax credits.
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): Of course we want hon. Members to be able to support their constituents, but the universal credit full service system is different because the online account allows the user to access a greater breadth of their data. The claimant holds the key to those data, and implied consent cannot be assumed. A claimant can give their consent via their journal, and that is what has to be done to enable a Member to act on their behalf.
Universal Credit — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Questions: What estimate his Department has made of the number of households in which a person in work will receive less income in universal credit than they would have received in tax credits.
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): Universal credit, as the hon. Lady knows, is a monthly benefit, but benefit advances are available where people cannot make it through to the first pay day. The fundamental point is that universal credit is helping more people into work, and once they are there, it is helping more people progress in work, and that is what is putting down the better foundation for their future.
Pension Investments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Questions: What steps the Government are taking to ensure that people have accurate and clear information to inform decisions on the use of their pension investments.
Richard Harrington (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for that really important question. She can be reassured that a cross-Government consultation on further measures to tackle pension scams closed very recently—on 13 February —and it included a proposal to ban all cold calling in relation to pensions. We will announce our next steps once we have considered the responses we have received to the consultation, but I assure her that we will take action as soon as possible.
Jobcentre Plus (Closures) — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Questions: For what reason his Department did not carry out an impact assessment prior to the announcement of the proposed closure of Jobcentre Plus estates on 26 January 2017.
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): First, ESA and IS claimants are not required regularly to attend the jobcentre in the same way that JSA claimants are. We want to look at outreach and other opportunities in working with partners. As the hon. Lady will know, the consultation closes on 28 February. On the overall approach for the city of Sheffield, this is about consolidating the amount of available space and using that space better to get a better deal for the taxpayer, while being able to provide enhanced services for customers. It will raise utilisation across Sheffield from 51% to 69%.
Jobcentre Plus (Closures) — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Transportation
Questions: For what reason his Department did not carry out an impact assessment prior to the announcement of the proposed closure of Jobcentre Plus estates on 26 January 2017.
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): The proposals will raise utilisation across the city of Liverpool from 66% to 95%, which will make better use of buildings. Where movement from one jobcentre to another involves travelling less than three miles or 20 minutes by public transport, we consider it is reasonable to ask people to make such a move.
Disabled People — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Peter James Guy Aldous (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the Minister for her reply. I recently held an engagement event in Lowestoft in my constituency to consider the Green Paper. The conclusion reached was that the disability employment gap is best tackled with bespoke local solutions worked out with local employers. Will the Minister give this approach fair and full consideration as she assesses the feedback from the consultation?
Disabled People — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for what she is doing in her constituency to promote the scheme. It is important that employers realise not only what opportunities are presented by employing these people, but the support and advice that go alongside it. The more people who know about that, the closer we will be to achieving the goal of ensuring that every citizen in this country can reach their full potential.
Jobcentre Plus (Closures) — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Government Operations
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): The entire estates review has come about because a 20-year private finance initiative contract comes to an end at the end of March 2018. That has presented the opportunity—indeed, the requirement—to review almost the entire DWP estate. We are trying to consolidate it into less space to save money for the taxpayer and to do things more efficiently. We do not want the people who work in those places, particularly in back-of-house locations, to be made redundant. We are trying extremely hard to find other opportunities for them elsewhere in DWP or in the public sector.
Employment Trends — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): The UK labour market is the strongest it has been for years. Over the past year, the number of people in employment has increased by 302,000. The employment rate stands at a new record high of 74.6%. The unemployment rate remains at 4.8%—the lowest rate in over 10 years.
Employment Trends — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Seema Louise Ghiassi Kennedy (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. He will agree that long-term unemployment is particularly damaging for a young person. What steps is his Department taking to ensure that no young person falls through the cracks?
Employment Trends — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right: long-term unemployment can significantly damage anyone, particularly young people. I welcome the recent employment statistics, which show that 3 million 16 to 24-year-olds are full-time students, and another 3 million have left full-time education and are working. Together they account for 86% of all young people in the UK, the joint highest on record. She is right that there is always more to do, which is why, in April, we are introducing the youth obligation to ensure that young people are fully supported as they progress into work and while they are at work.
PIP Assessments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Education
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): We are committed to ensuring that claimants receive high-quality, objective, fair and accurate assessments. The Department monitors assessment quality through independent audit. Assessments deemed unacceptable are returned to the provider for reworking. A range of measures, including provider improvement plans, address performance falling below expected standards.
PIP Assessments — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Transportation
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I do agree with the hon. Lady, which is why we have been trying to work more strategically with Motability, thrashing through the issues I am very aware of on appeals and on matters such as when an individual leaves the country. We are looking to reduce the amount of time that appeals take and at what we can do with the running of the scheme so that the precise scenario she outlines does not happen.
Self-employed People: Support — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Damian Patrick George Hinds (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely. The 40 new businesses in Banbury are a great example of what the NEA can do. In phase 2, we are introducing additional features to continue to promote sustained success in self-employment, including extending the mentoring period and ensuring there is a pre-workshop to outline the responsibilities and realities of being self-employed.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): Today, we published our Green Paper on defined benefit pension schemes. The schemes provide an important source of income in the retirement plans of millions of people. The majority of the nearly 6,000 defined benefit pension schemes are run effectively. We are fortunate to have a robust and flexible system of pension protection in the UK. However, it is clear that experiences differ from scheme to scheme. Some employers are clearly struggling and the system may not be working optimally in all circumstances. The Green Paper is an opportunity to look at the schemes to ensure the system remains sustainable, while still ensuring members’ benefits are protected.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend the Minister for Employment explained, the data are now held in a different way. They are entirely owned by the claimants, who can and should give any Member of Parliament permission to act on their behalf. With that permission, all of us can do our job, as we traditionally have, on behalf of our constituents.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: Last October, the Secretary of State announced that people with severe lifelong conditions would be exempt from reassessments for employment and support allowance. This was welcomed by leading charities in the sector. Will motor neurone disease fall within the exemptions?
Damian Howard Green (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not agree with the hon. Lady that the measures are punitive. To take just one of the two that she brought up—bereavement payments—as she knows, this measure is bringing three payments into one. The original system was devised for a world in which women often would not work at all and so needed lifelong support, rather than the extra support that they will be offered after such a tragic event. I think she will find that the new system is much fairer and more effective at providing support when it is most wanted.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Questions: Last October, the Secretary of State announced that people with severe lifelong conditions would be exempt from reassessments for employment and support allowance. This was welcomed by leading charities in the sector. Will motor neurone disease fall within the exemptions?; Does the Minister agree that it was important to introduce the cap on out-of-work benefits to deal with the excesses of a system that used to see a single household being given £100,000 a year in housing benefit?
Caroline Fiona Ellen Nokes (Conservative, Centre-right): My right hon. Friend is right to point out that the benefit cap is working. It has brought about behavioural change, and evaluation of the current cap level has found that capped households are 41% more likely to go into work than similar, uncapped households. More than that, 38% of those capped said that they were doing more to find work, a third were submitting more applications and a fifth went to more interviews.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Questions: Last October, the Secretary of State announced that people with severe lifelong conditions would be exempt from reassessments for employment and support allowance. This was welcomed by leading charities in the sector. Will motor neurone disease fall within the exemptions?; Does the Minister agree that it was important to introduce the cap on out-of-work benefits to deal with the excesses of a system that used to see a single household being given £100,000 a year in housing benefit?; New recipients of support who are in the work-related activity group will cease to receive the work-related activity component payment as of this April. As we have only a short six weeks until those claimants are hit by this change in policy, can the Minister tell us exactly what additional support they will receive?
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): The first thing I would say to the hon. Lady is that although the policy is being introduced in April, it will not start to have an impact on individuals until the summer. There is a personalised support package—13 measures that are outlined in the Green Paper—and she will know that we are also looking at ways in which we can reduce an individual’s household outgoings that are not related to finding work.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Questions: Last October, the Secretary of State announced that people with severe lifelong conditions would be exempt from reassessments for employment and support allowance. This was welcomed by leading charities in the sector. Will motor neurone disease fall within the exemptions?; Does the Minister agree that it was important to introduce the cap on out-of-work benefits to deal with the excesses of a system that used to see a single household being given £100,000 a year in housing benefit?; New recipients of support who are in the work-related activity group will cease to receive the work-related activity component payment as of this April. As we have only a short six weeks until those claimants are hit by this change in policy, can the Minister tell us exactly what additional support they will receive?
Amanda Jane Solloway (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the Minister agree that we must do all we can to support into work people with mental health issues, disabilities and learning difficulties, but that, equally importantly, we must ensure that businesses are equipped to help them to sustain their employment?
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2017-02-20
Topic: Labor
Questions: Last October, the Secretary of State announced that people with severe lifelong conditions would be exempt from reassessments for employment and support allowance. This was welcomed by leading charities in the sector. Will motor neurone disease fall within the exemptions?; Does the Minister agree that it was important to introduce the cap on out-of-work benefits to deal with the excesses of a system that used to see a single household being given £100,000 a year in housing benefit?; New recipients of support who are in the work-related activity group will cease to receive the work-related activity component payment as of this April. As we have only a short six weeks until those claimants are hit by this change in policy, can the Minister tell us exactly what additional support they will receive?
Penelope Mary Mordaunt (Conservative, Centre-right): I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. This is about people being able to reach their full potential and make use of all the benefits that come with having a pay packet—all those opportunities and that choice. Employers have a huge role to play. I have been very encouraged by the results of the consultation, particularly from employers wanting to do more, and we must ensure that they have the tools and expertise to do more.