theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
debates/debates2025-10-13b conversation_3
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-10-13b conversation_3

John Milne:What steps he plans to take to ensure that new housing developments have adequate access to infrastructure. \p Matthew Pennycook: The national planning policy framework sets out that:

“The purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of…supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.”

We made changes to the framework in December last year that will support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure. Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure, and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. \p John Milne: In my constituency, we have seen promises of new schools and clinics repeatedly broken, but in every case it was not the developer or local council that let people down but national bodies such as the Department for Education and integrated care boards. They do it to save money by cramming more kids into existing schools and more patients into packed clinics. In the light of the  21,000 extra houses that have just been announced by the Chancellor for Horsham district, will the Minister meet me to discuss how we can legally ensure that key local infrastructure promises are met? \p Matthew Pennycook: The hon. Gentleman knows that I am always happy to sit down and talk to him about these and other issues. It must be said that when preparing a local plan, planning practice guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an infrastructure funding statement. Local authorities are not doing that in all cases, which is why the chief planner wrote to all local planning authorities recently to remind them of their statutory duty to do so. We can discuss that and other issues when I meet him. \p Anna Dixon: New housing developments agreed under the previous Government have been built on the green belt around villages in the Shipley constituency, such as Burley in Wharfedale, Wilsden, Denholme and Cullingworth, often without the vital investment in infrastructure such as GP practices, schools and other council services. Will the Minister reassure my constituents that as we build the much-needed affordable and social homes, we will prioritise brownfield and ensure adequate investment in the community? \p Matthew Pennycook: I can give my hon. Friend that assurance; ours is a brownfield-first policy. She highlights an important point. The previous Government released vast swathes of the green belt in a haphazard and chaotic manner. We are taking a strategic approach to green-belt release, prioritising the release of the lowest-quality grey belt, and we are ensuring that where that happens, subject to our golden rules, we see higher levels of affordable housing and infrastructure. It is a much smarter approach. The previous Government did not adopt it, and they should stop carping about it now.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-10-13b conversation_4

Edward Morello:What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of requiring water companies to be statutory consultees for new housing developments. \p Matthew Pennycook: Water companies are not statutory consultees on individual planning applications, but they are consulted as part of the preparation of local development plans. On 26 January, the Government declared a moratorium on any new statutory consultees and announced a review of the existing statutory consultee arrangements. A consultation on proposals designed to limit the scope of statcons to where advice is strictly necessary and to remove entirely a limited number of them will be published in the near future. \p Edward Morello: Outdated sewer systems mix clean rainwater with sewage, polluting rivers and placing strains on outdated infrastructure. If the Government are intent on not making water companies statutory consultees, a national rainwater management strategy mandating rainwater harvesting on new homes and major renovations would ease the pressure on infrastructure  and reduce the likelihood of sewage overflows. What recent conversations has the Minister had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about introducing a national rainwater management strategy? Will he consider making rainwater harvesting a mandatory requirement on new housing developments? \p Matthew Pennycook: The hon. Gentleman raises an apt point. I regularly meet colleagues from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to discuss a range of issues, including water efficiency and management. I draw his attention to the consultation we launched just last month to review the water efficiency standards in the Building Regulations 2010. As part of that, we are investigating how we can bring technologies such as rainwater harvesting into new developments safely.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-10-13b conversation_6

Ben Maguire:What steps he is taking to support the building of social housing in rural towns and villages. \p Steve Reed: The £39 billion social and affordable homes programme will support a wide range of social and affordable housing, including council housing, supported housing, community-led housing and, of course, rural housing. The Government will also consider how planning policy can better promote rural affordable housing through our work on national policies, which will be brought forward for decision making later in the year. \p Ben Maguire: I thank the Secretary of State for that response. Cornwall has been given an ambitious annual target of 4,400 homes, and I sincerely hope that a large proportion of those will be for the 25,000 Cornish families on the housing waiting list. I meet so many constituents in social and private housing who have been left high and dry by dodgy developers who go into liquidation before they can deliver vital infrastructure,  such as roads and sewerage works. Will the Secretary of State please meet me to discuss the enforcement tools that local authorities need to properly hold those developers to account? \p Steve Reed: I certainly recognise the problem that the hon. Member describes; it is an issue in North Cornwall and right across the country. On the developer contribution, we are looking at how we can strengthen enforcement, so that where commitments are made, they are delivered on, and local communities are not stranded and left high and dry because the vital infrastructure to support the homes never appears.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-10-13b conversation_7

Bradley Thomas:What steps he is taking to bring long-term empty homes back into occupation. \p Lindsay Hoyle: Welcome, Minister. \p Samantha Dixon: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. The Government want more empty homes brought back into use across the country, including through the steps we outlined in the English devolution White Paper to strengthen local authorities’ ability to take over the management of vacant residential premises. \p Bradley Thomas: I welcome the Minister to her new role. Will the Government consider introducing a policy whereby long-term empty properties brought back into use as homes will count towards a district’s housing target? \p Samantha Dixon: Local authorities have a number of powers to deal with empty homes. The hon. Member raises an interesting point, which I will take away and consider with officials. \p Luke Myer: There are 46 long-term empty properties in the community of Park End in my constituency. Park End desperately needs regeneration, so I am delighted that the Government have awarded it £20 million of Pride in Place funding, for the community to use for regeneration over the long term. Will the Government commit to working with me to make sure that the local community gets the best from that funding? \p Samantha Dixon: Absolutely. I am really encouraged by the way that local communities are seizing the opportunity of Pride in Place funding, and taking it forward to deal with an issue that affects every council across the country.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-10-13b conversation_8

Gareth Thomas:Whether he plans to include community-led housing within the long-term housing strategy. \p Matthew Pennycook: The Government recognise that community-led housing delivers a wide range of benefits. We strengthened  support for it in the revised national planning policy framework published last year, and in March we announced a 10-year social finance investment to provide capital funding for community-led housing. As part of the development of our long-term housing strategy, we are considering how the Government might further support the growth of the sector. \p Gareth Thomas: Redwood Housing Co-operative spans five floors of social housing in the iconic OXO Tower on the south bank of the River Thames. Given that Redwood is run by its tenants, charges some of the lowest rents in central London and offers some of the best views, should not every community have a Redwood? \p Matthew Pennycook: My hon. Friend has long championed co-operatives, and I recognise his commitment to expanding co-ops in London and across the country. With that example, he draws our attention to the benefits that they can provide. We are considering opportunities to legislate to establish a legal framework for a co-operative housing tenure, which would help formalise the rights and responsibilities of both co-operatives and their tenants, and make co-operative housing a more attractive option. As my hon. Friend will know, I am more than happy to discuss the matter with him further at a suitable opportunity in the near future. \p Jessica Brown-Fuller: In my Chichester constituency, a lack of available land drives high-density schemes in rural villages that lack the necessary infrastructure, and the schemes quickly become unpopular locally. Community land trusts such as the Westbourne Land Trust gain local support and deliver affordable homes, and that gives communities a real stake in that development. Does the Minister agree that community buy-in is essential if the Government are to reach their target for building homes? What steps are being taken to help community land trusts go from the planning phase to building homes? \p Matthew Pennycook: The hon. Lady outlined another benefit of community land trusts: getting local buy-in. The availability of land is an issue for CLTs. I have already set out some of the ways that we are supporting them through new investment. As the Secretary of State said earlier, the new social and affordable housing programme will be designed with the flexibility necessary to support a greater diversity of social and affordable housing supply, including community-led housing.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-10-13b conversation_11

Callum Anderson:What steps his Department is taking to support local authorities to build social housing in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency. \p Steve Reed: The Government have taken decisive action to improve the capacity of all local authorities, including those in Buckingham and Bletchley, to build more social housing, including through our new £39 billion social and affordable homes programme, the new 10-year social housing rent settlement, and right-to-buy reform, so that we can reverse the decline seen under the previous Government. \p Callum Anderson: The on-time, on-budget delivery of 183 new council homes for local families on the Lakes estate in Bletchley is a good demonstration of what Labour can achieve in local government. Is my right hon. Friend willing to visit Bletchley over the coming weeks and months to discuss how further investment from the social and affordable homes programme could help ambitious, pro-housebuilding councils like Milton Keynes to go even further for local people? \p Steve Reed: I am sure that it will come as no surprise to my hon. Friend that I wholeheartedly welcome the delivery of 183 new council homes in his constituency. I fully agree that the Lakes estate demonstrates the ambition of Milton Keynes city council to build the homes that its communities want and need. I also value such councils’ support in helping the Government to meet our ambitious housebuilding targets, which include targets for the biggest boost to social and affordable housing in this country in a generation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-10-13b conversation_12

Tom Morrison:What steps he plans to take to ensure that new housing developments in Cheadle constituency have adequate access to infrastructure. \p Matthew Pennycook: As per my answer to question 4, the changes that we made to national planning policy last year were intended to support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure. When it comes to ensuring that necessary infrastructure is funded and brought forward in Cheadle or any other part of the country, we look to local development plans and infrastructure funding statements to address needs and opportunities. \p Tom Morrison: Residents in Cheadle have contacted me about the huge number of speculative development applications coming through, particularly in Cheadle Hulme and Woodford. We are now being told that a 10,000-home new town will potentially be situated on the constituency border. GPs are completely oversubscribed in Woodford, we have not had a Sunday rail service in over a year, and the bus services are completely inadequate. This has been raised time and again by my constituents. Will the Minister meet me and the leader of Stockport council to talk about this issue, and how the Government can get developers to start investing in infrastructure before they develop homes? \p Matthew Pennycook: The hon. Gentleman has raised a number of issues. The best way in which local planning authorities can protect themselves from speculative development is to have an up-to-date local development plan in place. He touched on developer contributions; we remain committed to strengthening the existing system to ensure that new developments provide the necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. We will set out further details in due course.

When it comes to the prospective new town that the hon. Gentleman mentioned, I gently point out that it was not the Government but the independent, expert new towns taskforce that recommended to the Government that Adlington and 11 other locations in England should  be the sites for the next generation of new town. On 28 September, we commenced a strategic environmental assessment to understand the environmental implications of new towns, and that will support final decisions. But no final decisions have yet been taken. \p Lindsay Hoyle: Order. I should say that that is the Adlington in Cheshire, not Lancashire.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-10-13b conversation_15

Andy McDonald:Tory cuts to local authorities cruelly caused lasting damage to many communities. What a contrast to the Government’s Pride in Place programme awards to Park End and Thorntree in Middlesbrough, which will change lives for the better. Does the Secretary of State agree that 100% council tax equalisation and a new children’s formula are essential elements to fully deliver for those communities that were totally overlooked by the Conservatives? \p Alison McGovern: It is important that we get that right, and we will have further discussions about it shortly. I might disagree with my hon. Friend on the importance of Pride in Place, which will turn around some of the decline created by the Conservative party. \p Lindsay Hoyle: I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson. \p Zöe Franklin: In June, the Department made the welcome announcement of legislation to allow proxy voting and remote attendance, which will help to drive up the diversity of councillors across the country, but the Government have not yet set out a timeline. Will the Minister advise the House on when a timeline will be shared, and whether the Government have considered including the changes in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill? \p Samantha Dixon: The Government are committed to an election Bill, which will be coming in due course—very shortly, I imagine—and I am sure the hon. Member will be able to explore those issues further at that time.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

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Cat Eccles:In 2022, Tory-run Dudley council entered an agreement with a social housing developer but later pulled the plug and sold off the land, so we may not get those much-needed homes. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that councils maximise opportunities to build affordable and social homes on land owned by councils? \p Matthew Pennycook: I am sorry to learn about the loss of social rented homes in that instance. I can assure my hon. Friend that the Government are committed to reinvigorating council house building, and I direct her attention to the five-point plan that we published in July to deliver a decade of renewal for social and affordable housing.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-10-13b conversation_17

John Whittingdale:Whether Essex ends up with three, four or five authorities under the local government reforms, my constituents will certainly come under an authority that is no longer local. As part of the reforms, will more powers be devolved to town and parish councils that are able to understand and properly reflect their local residents? \p Alison McGovern: Local government reorganisation will create opportunities to improve public services, efficiency and clarity. The final proposals from councils in Essex were submitted by 26 September, and we anticipate launching a statutory consultation in November. I am sure we will discuss the right hon. Gentleman’s points in detail over the weeks and months to come.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-10-13)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-10-13b conversation_18

Marie Tidball:Across the Sheffield city council area, including my Penistone and Stocksbridge constituency, 26,400 people are waiting for council homes. That is a legacy of the Conservative Government in coalition making it more difficult for empty homes to be brought back into residential use. Will the Minister work with Sheffield city council and me to ensure that it has increased resources and powers to expedite bringing empty homes back into use, so that my constituents and those across the authority can stay near but go far? \p Samantha Dixon: As I iterated earlier, we want to see more empty homes brought back into use in Sheffield and across the country. As we outlined in the English devolution White Paper, we intend to strengthen the ability of local authorities such as Sheffield city council to take over the management of vacant residential premises. \p Luke Evans: We in Leicestershire have three, if not four, plans for our reorganisation, with no agreement. We also have a county council run by Reform, which has already had not one but two reshuffles, losing its cabinet leads for social services and finance. While 70% of its budget is spent on social services and special educational needs and disabilities, what assurances can the Government give me that my constituents will get those services, and that those services will be protected, when there already seems to be chaos in the council? \p Alison McGovern: As I mentioned some moments ago, reorganisation creates an opportunity for simpler and clearer local services. I look forward to working with Members across the House to get it right, particularly in tackling some of the issues that the hon. Gentleman mentions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-02-03e conversation_3

Andrew Snowden:What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent trends in the unemployment rate. \p Alison McGovern: Thanks to the dreadful inheritance left to us by the Tory Government, we need to raise productivity, reduce economic inactivity, increase employment rates and drive up economic growth. Our “Get Britain Working” plan sets out how we will progress our ambition of an 80% employment rate, which would place the UK among the highest-performing countries in the world. \p Andrew Snowden: There was some lovely wording in that answer, but the Government appear to be doing absolutely the opposite. Following the Budget, it appears that there is not a week that goes by without another employer announcing significant job cuts. Reed recruitment has already announced that job postings are plummeting. What will the Government do to support the Minister’s Department in the situation it will find itself in—a rapidly increasing number of people looking for jobs and a rapidly decreasing number of jobs being posted because of the Government’s policies? \p Alison McGovern: I am glad the hon. Gentleman is bothered by the employment rate and I hope he is bothered by the record of his party, which saw employment fall off a cliff after the pandemic and never recover. We were an outlier in that; it did not happen anywhere else in the world. As it is, our jobcentres, which, as we have said, are full of brilliant staff, see just one in six employers ever consider using them to recruit. We will change that. We have a new strategy. The Secretary of State recently announced our plan to ensure that the Department of Work and Pensions serves businesses and that we get the best jobs into jobcentres so that people can take them up, improve their lives and grow our economy.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-02-03e conversation_4

Luke Akehurst:What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to tackle benefit fraud by criminal gangs. \p Liz Kendall: I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea West (Torsten Bell), to his post as Pensions Minister, and to place on record my personal thanks to his predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Emma Reynolds), for all her hard work.

Our new Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill will update the Department’s powers to tackle fraud for the first time in more than 14 years, including enabling our serious and organised crime investigators to apply for a warrant; enter and search premises for evidence; seize items such as computers and phones; and bring criminal gangs to justice. \p Luke Akehurst: Does my right hon. Friend agree that tackling fraud against the taxpayer is key to setting the country’s finances on a sustainable footing and allowing the investment in public services that my constituents are so desperate to see? \p Liz Kendall: I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. We have a responsibility and a duty to use every possible measure to ensure that taxpayers’ money is wisely spent, on our schools, hospitals and police and on supporting  those who are in genuine need. Our new Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, along with fraud measures in the Budget, will save £8.6 billion over the next five years. That is the biggest fraud package ever. We were elected on a mandate for change, and that is what this Government will deliver. \p Jim Shannon: In the press today there is a reference to a criminal gang who defrauded the DWP by more than £1 million and were able to abscond to a certain eastern European country. Without mentioning too many things that are happening, can the Secretary of State tell me whether there is a way, within the law of this land, of chasing those people up, getting them back here and finding out where all that misappropriated money has got to? \p Liz Kendall: The hon. Gentleman is right to raise this despicable case. The new powers in the Bill—the existing powers have not been updated for 14 years—will bring us into line with other public bodies and ensure that we can investigate this properly, secure the evidence and get our money back.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-02-03e conversation_5

Max Wilkinson:What steps she is taking to support vulnerable people into work. \p Stephen Timms: We are fully committed to helping vulnerable people into work. It is good for them, it provides firms with great workers, it reduces the benefits bill, and it boosts economic growth. Connect to Work, which will be rolled out this year, will greatly improve support. \p Max Wilkinson: One of my constituents is a highly educated, high-earning civil servant who has serious care needs as a result of a bad accident about 30 years ago. His needs have been assessed as health-related, which means that the NHS pays the £81,000 cost of his care. If they were reassessed as social care needs, he would be forced to exhaust his savings. Each year his disability is reassessed, and during that reassessment his ability to work is unfairly treated with suspicion. The Government say that they want to help disabled people into work, which is a good thing. My constituent is working already, but fears that a huge disincentive will appear on the horizon if his status changes. Do Ministers understand his concerns? \p Stephen Timms: Yes, I definitely do understand his concerns. Our view is that disabled people should have the same chance to work—the same opportunities—that everyone else takes for granted, and we want to work with disabled people to reform the system to ensure that that is what they get. In the spring, we will publish a Green Paper on reforms to the health conditions and disability benefits system. \p Noah Law: My constituency faces high levels of economic vulnerability: 4.4% of my constituents are not in education, employment or training, and, worse, one in 10 are either NEET or  unaccounted for. What action is the Minister taking to ensure that they are helped into both employment and skills development? \p Stephen Timms: I think my hon. Friend will greatly welcome the youth guarantee announced in the “Get Britain Working” White Paper. We want to ensure that every single young person gets the same chance. We have seen a dreadful increase in the number of NEET young people over the past few years, and we are getting to grips with that and tackling it.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-02-03e conversation_6

Lincoln Jopp:If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Pensions Regulator on economic growth. \p Torsten Bell: The Government are looking across the piece at how the important work of our regulators supports economic growth, and the Pensions Regulator, which oversees the third largest pension system in the world, is no exception to that. \p Lincoln Jopp: The then pensions Minister, Guy Opperman, said that green-lighting defined benefit pension superfunds was his greatest achievement of lockdown. The unelected Governor of the Bank of England then unhelpfully intervened and said that superfunds would be a risk to financial stability, and as a result the Pensions Regulator has authorised only one pension superfund to come into existence. Can the Minister be a little more specific and tell us what exactly he is going to get the Pensions Regulator to do differently in order to support the growth mission? \p Torsten Bell: That is an important question. The Pensions Regulator does recognise its important role in supporting growth; indeed, it has statutory duties not just to protect savers but to minimise the impact on the growth of employers. Superfunds have an important role to play in ensuring that we have larger pension funds that are able to invest in a wider range of assets. As the hon. Gentleman says, on an interim basis the Pensions Regulator has authorised one such fund, but we will take measures in the pension schemes Bill to make further progress in this regard.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

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Alistair Strathern:What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of levels of maternity and paternity pay. \p Andrew Western: The Government keep the rates of benefits, state pensions and statutory pay under regular review. My hon. Friend will be aware that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced to Parliament on 30 October that, subject to parliamentary approval, parental pay will increase in line with the consumer prices index at the rate of 1.7% from April 2025. \p Alistair Strathern: The Government’s upcoming review of parental leave entitlement is really important as the UK currently has among the worst paternity leave in Europe. Recent research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation highlighted not just the growth benefit of  greater paternity leave entitlements but the benefit to workforce involvement, so will the Minister meet me and campaigners from the Dad Shift to ensure we are making the most of the opportunity to get people back into work? \p Andrew Western: We value the vital role that fathers and partners play in caring for children and in supporting their partners. We recognise that parental leave and pay entitlements, such as paid paternity leave, play a key role in their ability to do that. My hon. Friend is right to cite the planned parental leave review. That is being led by colleagues in the Department for Business and Trade, and I will write to them on his behalf to suggest a meeting.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-02-03e conversation_11

Ben Obese-Jecty:What steps she is taking to increase efficiency in the Child Maintenance Service. \p Andrew Western: The CMS modernisation programme delivers increasingly effective and efficient services. The programme has transformed customer interaction with the CMS, providing customers the choice to make contact digitally. Those efficiencies make it easier for customers to report changes and non-payment, so CMS caseworkers can focus on the collection of unpaid child maintenance. \p Ben Obese-Jecty: I have multiple casework examples from constituents in Huntingdon who have been impacted by CMS inefficiencies, including incorrectly calculated arrears with no explanation of how the sums have been calculated, and failure to verify the location of fathers who are not providing financial support, with the CMS claiming that addresses needed to be independently verified but not conducting that verification itself. Such cases have resulted in consolatory payments from the CMS for maladministration and service delays. In all instances, my constituents have been frustrated by their inability to contact the CMS over the phone. In the quarter ending September 2024, 41% of calls to the Child Maintenance Service were not answered. What are the Government doing to improve contact with the CMS by telephone? \p Andrew Western: I am very sorry to hear of those specific examples. I will take away the point about telephone communication and come back to the hon. Gentleman, but it may be worth our having a broader conversation about his concerns. I will happily meet him to discuss any of the specifics of the cases he cited. \p Graeme Downie: In response to a number inquiries that I have had from constituents over the last couple of months, will the Minister say whether reforms to the Child Maintenance Service will include consideration of the paying parent’s capital assets and voluntary pension payments when calculating the rate at which unpaid payments should be made? \p Andrew Western: My hon. Friend raises an important point. He will be aware of the recent consultation on the future administration and operation of the Child Maintenance Service. I do not want to prejudge the decisions that will follow as a result of that consultation, but I can tell him that we are considering the next steps at present, and I will update him and the House in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

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Peter Swallow:Last month, I brought together local leaders from charities and other organisations to discuss how we can best tackle child poverty in Bracknell Forest. I welcome today’s update on the progress of the child poverty taskforce. Does the Minister agree that community leaders are best placed to shape the support needed to tackle child poverty locally? \p Alison McGovern: I thank my hon. Friend for his question, and I am so pleased to hear about that work in Bracknell Forest. That is why the fourth part of our child poverty strategy  is about local support. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend and his constituents to ensure that strategy is a success. \p Lindsay Hoyle: I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson. \p Steve Darling: I was pleased to hear that Labour councillors on Hull city council have voted to condemn the Government’s shameful decision not to compensate WASPI women. Has that given the Minister pause for thought? \p Torsten Bell: I recognise the strength of feeling on this issue right across the House. We carefully considered the ombudsman’s report, but as the hon. Member knows, we do not think it is fair to provide compensation costing up to £10 billion when 90% of affected pensioners knew that the state pension age was rising, and the evidence shows that letters being sent earlier would have made little difference.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

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Danny Beales:This week marks Time to Talk Day, the Mind campaign to destigmatise talking about mental health. In light of this, will the Secretary of State join me in calling for employers up and down the country to take part in Time to Talk Day and outline what more could be done to end mental health stigma in the workplace? \p Liz Kendall: I absolutely will. As my hon. Friend knows, the Government have launched the “Keep Britain Working” review led by Charlie Mayfield, the former chair of John Lewis Partnership. He is doing precisely that—looking at how we can better support employers to help keep people in work and get them back to work. Mental health is a real concern for me, with so many young people not in education, employment or training, primarily driven by mental health problems. This is an issue we have got to sort, because it is terrible for them and for their future, and terrible for the economy too. \p Lindsay Hoyle: I call Alison Bennett.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

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Alison Bennett:Thank you, Mr Speaker.

“We’re saving the government millions.”

Those are the words of Stephanie from Burgess Hill, a full-time carer for her 89-year-old mum. With carer’s allowance not even covering Stephanie’s petrol costs, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of carer’s allowance in meeting the true costs of care? \p Stephen Timms: The hon. Member will know that we introduced the biggest ever increase in the earnings threshold for carer’s allowance for those who are able to combine some work with caring. We are determined that carers should get the support they need—there is a premium in universal credit as well, for example—but of course, we will keep all these matters under review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-02-03e conversation_17

Ashley Dalton:As we have heard today, the Government have recently launched their “Keep Britain Working” review. Developments in treatment for incurable cancers such as the one I have  mean that many of us with incurable cancer might live, and live reasonably well, for many years. How do the Government plan to engage with people with incurable cancers as part of that review, to ensure we are enabled to continue to thrive in our careers and our workplaces? \p Stephen Timms: I commend the resilience of my hon. Friend. Before Christmas, I spoke at a report launch with the charity Working with Cancer, which focuses on exactly the issue she has raised. She is right: employers have a key role in supporting people with cancer to continue to thrive in work, and the “Keep Britain Working” review will engage with people with lived experience as well as employers. \p David Mundell: It is now nine years since the Scotland Act 2016 transferred a swathe of welfare powers to the Scottish Government. Are Ministers in a position to give a finite date by which the Scottish Government will actually have taken on all those powers and responsibilities? That is still not the case. \p Andrew Western: As the right hon. Gentleman rightly says, a number of benefits are currently delivered under agency agreements. It is very much for the Scottish Government to broker a conversation with us about either extending those agreements or bringing them to an early conclusion. I am yet to have any such conversations, but should I have any, I will be very happy to let him know.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-02-03e conversation_18

Ian Lavery:Many people with mental health conditions rely heavily on personal independence payments so that they can continue in work and remain active in their communities. Can the Minister provide advice to the many constituents of mine who have contacted me terrified by the rumours that the Government are about to scrap this vital support for those who already have mental health issues? \p Stephen Timms: My hon. Friend is right that there has been a particularly big increase in mental health problems among young people. Given what the last Government did, I can well understand people being worried. We will continue to support people with mental health problems in the health and disability benefits system. The proposals for reform we will bring forward in the spring will make sure the system is fit for purpose and fair to the taxpayer, and they will deliver the support in work that people such as my hon. Friend’s constituents need. \p Danny Chambers: The Child Poverty Action Group has reported that 4.3 million children in the UK are living in poverty. In a classroom of 30, that is nine children living in poverty. Given that the Government have ruled out scrapping the two-child benefit cap, will the Minister commit to publishing measurable targets for reducing child poverty during this Parliament? \p Alison McGovern: As I have already mentioned in a number of responses, we understand the scale and seriousness of the problem the hon. Member mentions. We have already published the terms of reference for  the child poverty taskforce, and we will continue to keep the House updated as we move forward, given the seriousness of the issue.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-02-03e conversation_19

Andrew Pakes:On Friday last week, we held our first NEETs—those not in education, employment or training—and youth opportunities summit in Peterborough, bringing together Peterborough college, Anglia Ruskin University Peterborough and employers to see how we can tackle our youth unemployment problem. Will the Secretary of State commit to working further with places such as Peterborough to ensure we can deliver decent apprenticeships and more opportunities for young people who need them? \p Liz Kendall: Yes, I do commit to that, and I thank my hon. Friend for his tireless campaigning on the issue. With almost 1,000 young people unemployed in his constituency, or almost one in 10, I know what an important issue it is. His area is part of one of our youth guarantee trailblazers, meaning that every young person is earning or learning. I commit that the whole Government will continue to work with him and partners in his constituency to make sure that no young person is left behind. \p Joshua Reynolds: Jamie from my constituency is a full-time carer, but he is also in full-time education and is therefore not entitled to carer’s allowance. Will the Government confirm that they will extend carer’s allowance to those in full-time education? \p Stephen Timms: The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. I recently met a very impressive group of young people who have managed to navigate their way through education while also having very heavy caring responsibilities. We are working closely with the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Carers Trust and the Learning and Work Institute to make sure that we are providing the support young carers need.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-02-03e conversation_20

Chris McDonald:My constituent Darren, an unpaid carer, was wrongly refused a refund for prescription charges when moving from income support to universal credit. Does my right hon. Friend agree with me that there should be no gap in support in such circumstances? \p Stephen Timms: Yes, I do agree with my hon. Friend, and I am grateful to him for highlighting that case. We have asked the Department for Health and Social Care to review its decision in that case—I hope with a positive outcome. \p Seamus Logan: The Minister will have heard several references to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation report this afternoon. The report demonstrates not only that extreme poverty is rising, but that the only part of these islands where child poverty will fall in the next four years is Scotland. Is it not time that the Westminster Government took a leaf out of the Scottish Government’s book? \p Alison McGovern: I think it is fair to say that we have spent a great deal of time talking to people from all parts of the United Kingdom, and we will continue to do so, because only a strategy that covers all of the UK will be a success.
debates/debates2025-02-06b conversation_2
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-06)

UK Parliament Hansard data: debates/debates2025-02-06b conversation_2

Darren Paffey:What steps he is taking to increase the accountability of water company executives for service failures. \p Steve Reed: I thank my hon. Friend for his service on the Water (Special Measures) Bill Committee. He will know that the Bill creates new powers for the regulator, including banning the payment of unjustified bonuses for water bosses whose companies fail to meet environmental standards and ensuring that imprisonment is a sentencing option where environmental regulators are obstructed. That will hold water companies and their executives to account. In addition, we are doubling compensation for poor service to hold water companies to account for failure in their service delivery. \p Darren Paffey: I thank the Secretary of State for his answer. Many of my constituents in Southampton Itchen have written to me, outraged at the 53% bill increase that Southern Water is proposing at a time when it and  others continue to pollute our rivers at an alarming rate. This is simply becoming a national scandal. As part of the work of the coming independent water review, will the Secretary of State ensure that water companies get back to delivering reliable services for customers, rather than lining the pockets of executives and shareholders? \p Steve Reed: My hon. Friend makes an important point. Bills, of course, are going up because the previous Government did nothing as our sewerage infrastructure crumbled and millions of pounds were allowed to be diverted to pay for bonuses and dividends instead of investment. This Government have ringfenced the money earmarked for infrastructure so that this scandal can never happen again. \p Patrick Spencer: Essex and Suffolk Water has issued a moratorium on commercial businesses pulling water out of the ground, which it says is due to the Environment Agency. The problem is that water-intensive businesses need water to grow. Aspall in my constituency has £10 million of investment ready to go to grow its cidery. Without access to water, it cannot make that investment. If this Government are serious about going for growth, will the Minister meet me to find a solution to the moratorium so that we can move forward? \p Steve Reed: I am more than happy to ask the Minister for water, my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice (Emma Hardy), to meet the hon. Gentleman, who raises an important point. I have asked Sir Jon Cunliffe to look at how we can better manage this as part of the work he is leading.