Welfare Reform and Work Act

I am, and I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention. The problem with all the changes, going r...

Does the hon. Lady agree that all the changes in the welfare legislation should be seen in the br...

I will come to that point later in my speech, if the hon. Lady is happy to wait.

In additio...

Will the Scottish National party and the Scottish Parliament use the powers they have to raise ta...

We are already looking to raise more money to mitigate some of the cuts from here but, frankly, w...

If the benefits freeze was to be unfrozen in Scotland, people in Scotland would be receiving addi...

That is what I am saying; we are already mitigating £450 million in benefit cuts from this place....

I commend my hon. Friend for her meticulous and erudite speech. Does she agree that the benefit f...

Yes. That is exactly what I will move on to. Obviously, the former Chancellor, George Osborne, ju...

The hon. Lady is being extremely generous in giving way. I want to ask about the principle behind...

I am advocating that inflation is now ten times what it was when the policy was brought in, and t...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes.

I congratulate the hon. Member...

The hon. Lady talks about how proud she is of this Government’s actions, but by the time this deb...

I visited the food bank and have spoken to the people there, but time does not permit me to talk ...

Does the hon. Lady recognise that more than 60% of people who require support are working, but ar...

I do not agree with that, because the evidence does not bear it out. Universal credit is an agile...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

This must be the last intervention. I am aware that others wish to speak.

In that case, I am grateful to the hon. Lady for allowing me to intervene. She is recalling the e...

I have spoken to claimants in local organisations on the ground.

How many?

Many. I can write to the hon. Gentleman with the precise numbers, if he would like me to.

I...

I warmly congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Central Ayrshire (Dr Whitford) on securing th...

I am also a constituency MP and I take my casework very seriously. Does the hon. Gentleman acknow...

As well as being a constituency MP who does surgeries, I spend two hours every week door-knocking...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I am happy to give way to my hon. Friend, though.

Does my hon. Friend accept the basic premise that we have an ageing population and we need people...

Absolutely. The Government have often spoken about their family test for policy. I do not think t...

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes. I congratulate the hon. Member for Ce...

Is the hon. Gentleman seriously still attempting to use the banking crash to justify the cuts to ...

As the hon. Gentleman will have heard from my opening remarks, there are two issues at play. The ...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech. Does he recognise that well over half a million few...

I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for stealing my thunder and taking away my next paragra...

The hon. Member seems to have a basic misunderstanding of the impact of this measure. Does he not...

I think the word “punish” is entirely wrong in this context. I think we have to say that if peopl...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will happily give way to the hon. Lady.

Order. I am conscious of time. At least two other Members wish to speak. They will not be able to...

Thank you, Mr Gapes. I intervened merely to point out that people’s circumstances change, so if t...

No, but they will have additional support to get back into work and they will have the benefit of...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes. I want to allow time for my hon. Fri...

Thank you very much for fitting me in, Mr Gapes. I have pulled myself out of my sickbed to be her...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes. I warmly congratulate my hon. Friend...

I am looking to the Minister for confirmation, but I believe it is still very much our policy to ...

I am looking to the Minister to intervene, but he is looking down at his notes sheepishly. As of ...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gapes. I congratulate the hon. Member for C...

rose—

rose—

I will not give way, because I am short of time. I refer the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Ba...

Where is he?

Order. We can do without the heckling.

The Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016 is having a profound impact on the lives of many of the most...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No, I am going to make some progress.

In-work poverty has risen to record levels: 8 million...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No, I am really short of time.

Thirty-five thousand of the single-parent capped households ...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

No.

The main provider of food banks in the UK, the Trussell Trust, has highlighted that foo...

rose—

The Government have made it difficult to trace the overall impact of the Act with all its complex...

rose—

Order. It is quite clear that the hon. Lady is not giving way. She is coming to the end of her re...

Even the impact assessments for each part of the Act are out of date. Civil society organisations...

It is a great pleasure to be in your capable hands this morning, Mr Gapes. I thank the hon. Membe...

Will the Minister give way?

Not at the moment.

With the national living wage we have been helping people to earn more. ...

Will the Minister give way?

I am not going to give way, because I want to address some of the specific questions, and give th...

rose—

We are making good progress. Nationally, there are now about 880,000 fewer households where no on...

Will the Minister give way?

Order. Mr Gray, the Minister has made it clear that he is not giving way. He does not have to giv...

I have lots to get through. I want the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire to reply, and the Scottis...

Dr Whitford, you have five seconds to wind up.

10.59 am

We did not defend the old system. If work is to pay, the Government should look at children in wo...