argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Low-income Households: Cost of Living — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of universal credit payment levels in the context of the rise in the cost of living.
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): I do not know the exact details of that case, but there may be opportunities in that household to explore pension credits. Of course, the Chancellor, with support from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, recently announced that the household support fund has also been increased by a further £500 million, until April next year.
Low-income Households: Cost of Living — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of universal credit payment levels in the context of the rise in the cost of living.
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): As we have highlighted, we have just set out a really significant increase in benefits payments as part of the package that is now worth £37 billion. As a result of the work we are doing not just to provide support but to enable people to get into work, there are now 200,000 fewer children in the UK who are in absolute poverty before housing costs.
Low-income Households: Cost of Living — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Questions: What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of universal credit payment levels in the context of the rise in the cost of living.
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): We have already set out our cost of living payments, which will benefit 8 million households in the UK. They are significant and much needed as we face these current cost of living challenges. It is also important to highlight that, over the past couple of years, we have seen the maximum amount that can be taken in deductions from benefits fall from 40% to 30% and now down to 25%.
Unemployment: Rother Valley — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Is that me? I am sorry, Mr Speaker, it has been a long weekend. [Interruption.] The jubilee, Mr Speaker, that is exactly why. The Government want everyone—whoever they are and wherever they live—to be able to find a job, progress in work and thrive in the labour market. Through Restart and the Way to Work scheme, we are working closely with employers to help claimants into jobs. I am delighted to hear that my hon. Friend recently worked in partnership with our Jobcentre Plus and local employers to bring two job fairs to his constituents of the Rother Valley.
Unemployment: Rother Valley — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Alexander Paul Thomas Stafford (Conservative, Centre-right): I congratulate the Minister and the whole Government on the success of the Way to Work campaign, which is getting people into jobs up and down our country. The surest way out of this cost of living crisis is getting people into jobs. As my hon. Friend mentioned, I have held several job fairs in my constituency to help people get back into work. As the Way to Work campaign enters its final weeks, will she say what is available for those people who are not yet in work in Rother Valley?
Unemployment: Rother Valley — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Through the Way to Work campaign, we will continue to bring employers and claimants together in our jobcentres, and we know that that is what changes lives and fills vacancies faster. In the local jobcentre in Rother Valley, we are offering sector-based work academy programme swaps in those priority vacancy sectors, such as health and social care, warehousing, construction and security to support people to get quickly into the labour market.
Kickstart Scheme Closure — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): Following the success of Kickstart, which has seen over 162,600 young people start their new roles, the DWP youth offer will continue to support our young people. I have observed at first hand how our new youth hubs and our extended Jobcentre Plus network have helped to move young people into those local opportunities more quickly. That includes recent visits to Eastbourne’s Hospitality Rocks and the Wolverhampton College’s electric vehicle and green technologies centre.
Kickstart Scheme Closure — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Laura Trott (Conservative, Centre-right): In Sevenoaks and Swanley, the Kickstart scheme was welcomed with open arms. It is used by many brilliant local employees, including Go-Coach and the Mount Vineyard in Shoreham. Will my hon. Friend ensure that the Way to Work scheme focuses particularly on helping younger people in this way, and on helping specific sectors that are struggling to recruit, such as social care?
Kickstart Scheme Closure — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right. The scheme has transformed how we recruit everybody, including our young people. Our DWP employment advisers are working closely with employers to meet that local demand, including for HGV drivers and care workers. Way to Work has offered a unique opportunity to ramp up that activity, expand the approach, and maximise quicker employment into new sectors, with Kickstart leading the way.
Kickstart Scheme Closure — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Jane Fiona Catherine Stevenson (Conservative, Centre-right): Last month, I had the great pleasure of hosting an apprenticeship showcase on behalf of the aerospace and defence industry in Parliament. I met a constituent, Tianna, who is currently an apprentice at Collins Aerospace in my constituency. Tianna got the opportunity to showcase her enthusiasm and her skills to Collins through the Kickstart scheme. Can the Minister reassure me that other young people in Wolverhampton will have equal opportunity to showcase their own talents and ambitions in the future?
Kickstart Scheme Closure — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I can reassure my hon. Friend on that. In Wolverhampton, our jobcentres host an employers’ zone, which allows local businesses with vacancies and key training providers to meet claimants and enable those swaps and job-matching sessions. In the new Wolverhampton youth hub located in The Way, the youth zone directly supports young people furthest away from the labour market to find training and employment and, currently, exciting opportunities in the summer’s Commonwealth games, too.
Kickstart Scheme Closure — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Caroline Ansell (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for her visit to Eastbourne and the great energy and commitment she has shown to raising local aspiration. The kickstart scheme has been a huge success locally. Now hundreds of young people are in employment and building their careers—notably in Sussex NHS, where there are hundreds of new entrants. We are still working hard in hospitality and care, other sectors where there are opportunities as yet unfilled. What work is there coming down the line to connect young people with some of those opportunities, including in the digital and creative sector, where it is also important for us to build?
Kickstart Scheme Closure — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend rightly highlights the success of the kickstart scheme. I know she has had personal involvement in supporting young people in her constituency. Building on that success is an important question. The Way to Work initiative is building on those key links with local employers, such as the Sussex NHS, that offer good-quality opportunities for young people. Meanwhile, our work coaches continue to support jobseekers of all ages in accessing those vacancies and opportunities that she mentions in all those in-demand sectors.
Kickstart Scheme Closure — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Miriam Jane Alice Davies (Conservative, Centre-right): I will happily write to the hon. Gentleman with the correct numbers on this. Some 162,600 lives have been transformed at the most challenging time, with well over 200,000 vacancies created by employers who would never have looked at this way of recruiting and bringing young people into the labour market before. It is clear that many employers thought they were doing a favour by getting a young person in for six months. The scheme has transformed recruitment, young lives and opportunities, and employers have found that they are the ones who have had that favour done for them.
Benefits Rates: People with Disabilities — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): We will spend more than £64 billion this year on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. Claimants will also get one-off support worth up to £1,200 this year, including the new £650 cost of living payment for people on means-tested benefits and £150 for people on disability benefits, to help with additional costs.
Benefits Rates: People with Disabilities — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): I share the hon. Lady’s passion for this issue and her concern on behalf of her constituents. That is exactly why the Government have already acted: we have provided generous support in seeking to level up opportunity and improve the everyday experience for people with disabilities. What we have just been discussing comes on top of the package already announced, worth more than £22 billion, from the spring statement. We are clear that delivering this important additional support is an absolute priority; the DWP disability cost of living payments will accordingly be made by September, and other payments sooner than that, because we recognise the need here. However, I would take a step back and look at the overall approach, noting for example the agreement from the Resolution Foundation that this approach is the right one.
Benefits Rates: People with Disabilities — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): The shadow Minister needs to look at this in the round, because we have a set of cost of living payments designed to support the households with the lowest incomes. That is the right approach, as I have cited from the Resolution Foundation, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation also says that this is a very welcome way of doing it because it targets support to where it is most needed. In addition, we are recognising how disabled people do have further costs, and that is why we are also putting in place the £150 that is targeted on those with the means-tested lowest incomes.
Benefits Rates: People with Disabilities — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): We are. It is unfortunate that the hon. Lady cannot engage with the wider point that I am making around the nature of means-tested benefits—for example, the many on unemployment and support allowance or universal credit who are also disabled and who will benefit from the approach we are taking.
In-work Poverty: Cost of Living — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on steps to tackle in-work poverty in the context of the rise in the cost of living.; What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on steps to tackle in-work poverty in the context of the rise in the cost of living.
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): The two benefits are completely different, recognising the situations that people find themselves in, so they will be treated differently. The hon. Lady should of course be aware that this was challenged in court and the court did not go with the person who challenged it, recognising that they are completely different benefits.
Disabled People in Work — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): The latest figures released on 17 May show that between the first quarter of 2017 and the second quarter of this year, the number of disabled people in employment increased by 1.3 million, meaning that that goal—that manifesto commitment from the Conservative party—has been exceeded after five years.
Disabled People in Work — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Justin Paul Tomlinson (Conservative, Centre-right): The Government can be rightly proud of unlocking the potential of 1.3 million more disabled people, but the majority of people with disabilities or long-term health conditions will develop those while of working age. What more can the Government do to support employers with their changing workforce?
Disabled People in Work — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Chloe Rebecca Smith (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend has a great deal of experience and wisdom here, and he is absolutely right. It is why we are committed to supporting disabled people to remain in work through, in particular, our Access to Work and Disability Confident schemes. Access to Work in particular is a really important grant that supports the recruitment and retention of disabled people by contributing to the extra costs they can face in the workplace. I would also like the message to go out loud and clear from here that Disability Confident is critical and can help employers and employees and have disabled people’s talents included in economic growth.
Child Poverty: Future Trends — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): The two-child policy plays an important role in balancing fairness between those receiving benefits and those who are not. However, as we have already said through much of the questioning today, we have put a huge package on the table, which will benefit families of all sizes. With a vibrant employment market, there are big opportunities for people not just to get into work, but to progress in work as well.
Household Support Fund Allocation — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): Local authorities in England have already received their allocations for the household support fund for April to September, and those have been published online. The Government recently announced a further £421 million increase for the household support fund, extending it from October to March 2023. Devolved Administrations will also receive a further £79 million to help households with the cost of essentials, bringing the total funding for this support to £1.5 billion across the United Kingdom.
Household Support Fund Allocation — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Macroeconomics
Simon James Jupp (Conservative, Centre-right): Devon has been allocated a further £5 million to help households in the county with the cost of living crisis. What has the Secretary of State done to ensure that that money is directed at the right places in Devon to make sure that the support really helps?
Household Support Fund Allocation — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): Local authorities, with their local ties and knowledge, are best placed to identify those most in need. To assist local authorities with identifying those who may be in need of additional discretionary support, the DWP has introduced data shares with local authorities, which enables them to proactively identify individuals in need, as well as the supporting guidance for the scheme.
Household Support Fund Allocation — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): We have important guidance in place to support local authorities, but they are best placed to provide support for people in their individual localities. That is why the household support fund has been designed with that in mind.
State Pension: Deferring Entitlement — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Questions: What (a) information and (b) financial advice her Department provides to people approaching state pension age on deferring their entitlement to the state pension.
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): Information regarding deferral is published on gov.uk and provided in the state pension claim invitation letter and through the "Check your State Pension" forecast service, or someone can speak to the Pension Service direct. Deferring a state pension is a personal choice, and whether deferring a claim to the new state pension is the right decision will depend on a range of factors that are relevant to the personal circumstances of the individual, but no specific financial advice is given.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): What a marvellous weekend the country enjoyed. I am grateful to everybody who was doing that, including my civil servants who were working over the jubilee weekend, as we are working hard to make sure that we can deliver the cost of living payments to people next month. I continue to congratulate not only them but work coaches up and down the land who are helping people to get into work. I am pleased to say that we had a record number of claimants getting into work in March, and we had more than 100,000 in April as well, so we are well on our way to achieving our ambition of half a million extra people. I referred to the cost of living payments that we intend to deploy, and in the next couple of weeks, on 15 June, we will have our pension credit day of action. I encourage all Members of Parliament to make their constituents aware of that opportunity to claim benefits.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): The poverty statistics—admittedly, they are statistics rather than individual experiences; I accept that—show that, where both parents are working full time, fewer than 3% of people are effectively in poverty. I want to extend the help that we can give through our local jobcentres to help that particular family to perhaps extend their work or get on in work. It will be those measures, as well as the extra cost of living payments that we are making, that will help people with the challenges they face now.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Social Welfare
Questions: Parents across Sevenoaks and Swanley are facing rising childcare costs. I know that there is a huge amount of support available, so can the Secretary of State update the House on what she is doing to simplify the system so that it is clearer to people what they are entitled to and easier for people to claim?
David Henry Rutley (Conservative, Centre-right): The Department is promoting the generous universal credit childcare costs offer as part of a wider national advertising campaign, and it is also working across Government to promote the full range of childcare support through the "Childcare Choices" website and by putting new guidance in place for our work coaches.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Questions: Parents across Sevenoaks and Swanley are facing rising childcare costs. I know that there is a huge amount of support available, so can the Secretary of State update the House on what she is doing to simplify the system so that it is clearer to people what they are entitled to and easier for people to claim?
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): Well, I do not have the voice of an angel, and nor do I claim to have the pathway to heaven in this regard, but I am very conscious of the people of Wakefield, as I am of those right across the country. On people who are economically inactive, I have been consistent in saying that my priority is those who are currently on benefits and receiving financial support. They will always be my top priority, but I am working across Government to see what we can do, particularly working with employers, to ensure that the economically inactive come back into the workplace.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Questions: Parents across Sevenoaks and Swanley are facing rising childcare costs. I know that there is a huge amount of support available, so can the Secretary of State update the House on what she is doing to simplify the system so that it is clearer to people what they are entitled to and easier for people to claim?
Thérèse Anne Coffey (Conservative, Centre-right): There clearly is a plan. That is why there are actually more people on payroll than prior to the pandemic. I am very conscious of the challenges for the self-employed, and also that some people have currently chosen to leave the labour market. That is what we are working on across Government, as well as with the activity on childcare. We will continue to make sure that it is in everybody’s interests to work, because they will be better off in work than not working, unless they cannot work.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2022-06-06
Topic: Labor
Questions: Parents across Sevenoaks and Swanley are facing rising childcare costs. I know that there is a huge amount of support available, so can the Secretary of State update the House on what she is doing to simplify the system so that it is clearer to people what they are entitled to and easier for people to claim?; I congratulate the Minister on his campaign to increase the uptake of pension credit, which is a vital way of ensuring that our most vulnerable pensioner households get everything they are entitled to. Although more than 2,000 people in my constituency are already claiming pension credit, following recent announcements on cost of living support, where does my hon. Friend suggest that people look to check whether they are getting everything they are entitled to?
Guy Thomas Opperman (Conservative, Centre-right): Obviously, there is the Government site—gov.uk—and the phone number 0800 99 1234. More particularly, I today met Citizens Advice, Age UK and various other pensioner charities that would be very keen to assist on an ongoing basis. I must very strongly recommend my hon. Friend to get behind the pension credit awareness day, which takes place on Wednesday 15 June. Obviously his local authority, Essex County Council, has a role to play, as do all local authorities, because it has the data that can identify specific individuals who could apply for but do not have pension credit.