Universal Credit

rose—

Let me make some progress.

Overall, 3.2 million families with children could lose around £5...

I will make some progress and then I will take some interventions.

For more than a year now...

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. Does she agree, first, that we should call a halt to this ...

My hon. Friend makes a number of pertinent points. He is absolutely right to call on this Governm...

Will the hon. Lady also spare some time to talk about the 700,000 people who will be better off b...

The hon. Gentleman is getting ahead of himself, because there is no evidence that the Government ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the real issues is that, under this migration system, peopl...

My hon. Friend hits the nail on the head; he is absolutely right to raise that issue.

The G...

Does the hon. Lady agree that one of the strengths of the system is that people apply for only on...

When the hon. Lady looks at the drop-out rate and the number of people who actually fail to compl...

I am taking no more interventions. [Interruption.] Well, I am short of time and many people have ...

Will the hon. Lady give way to give her voice a rest?

This is a really serious matter and the hon. Gentleman would do well to focus on the issue at han...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I am going to make some progress.

When the National Audit Office raised the alarm with its ...

It is good to be here again to update the House on universal credit for the third time this week....

Will my right hon. Friend confirm that, although the Government will always want to do more, eigh...

My hon. Friend is correct. Those are the figures and that is what people are saying. We know that...

I will continue just a little bit further.

In less than 10 months, my ministerial colleague...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I will indeed.

I am very grateful to the Secretary of State, who is doing an excellent job in improving an intri...

My right hon. Friend is quite correct. As he will know—and everybody in the House should know—und...

rose—

I will indeed take a question. [Interruption.]

Before the hon. Gentleman intervenes, can I just point out that there are approximately 65 hon. a...

One in four workers in my constituency is self-employed—obviously, they are working and contribut...

Obviously the hon. Gentleman will understand a lot about the minimum income floor because he was ...

I will indeed give way. Who shall I choose from this merry bunch?

One of the representations the Secretary of State will have received is from the Residential Land...

As the right hon. Gentleman will know, we have made various changes to make sure that we can pay ...

Let me get back to the independent reports, what is happening, and what is being made publicly av...

Is not the real way to combat poverty to get people off benefits and into work, is not the eviden...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

My hon. Friend is exactly right. That is what Conservative Members agree about: helping people in...

Order. I say to the hon. Member for Bermondsey and Old Southwark (Neil Coyle), whose grinning cou...

I am trying to stand out from the crowd.

Believe me, the hon. Gentleman does that perfectly satisfactorily in any case.

Conservative Members have made sure that since 2010, 1,000 people each and every day have got a j...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I will indeed.

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

I am really grateful to the Secretary of State—

Order. Before we hear from the hon. Gentleman—I am sure that his intervention will not be aggress...

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. As the Secretary of State is finding it so hard to see which Opp...

I did not have any impression that the Secretary of State was having any particular difficulty; I...

The Secretary of State is making her usual robust case and claims that the system has improved. W...

To be fair, 76% of people coming on to universal credit had arrears in their housing benefit, acc...

As a northern MP, I know that there was a much slower uptake of really great work in the north. W...

My hon. Friend is right that unemployment has fallen by more than half in the north-west. I am su...

The Secretary of State pointedly remarked at the start of her contribution that this is the third...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his kindly words and advice but, when the Division goes, we will s...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I will.

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I wonder whether you could provide advice. I understand that it ...

It is perfectly reasonable for somebody to ask, and the Secretary of State can answer if she wish...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that protecting the most vulnerable is key? Can she reconfirm tha...

I am glad that there was some calm and hush for that question, so that I could hear it and give t...

Do the Government recognise that, in constituencies such as mine in London, work does not pay the...

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. Those are all things that we have to consider, in terms o...

I will give way one final time.

I want to express the view of Government Back Benchers on the motion. We believe genuinely that t...

I thank my hon. Friend for those kind words. She has fought tirelessly to make sure that universa...

Order. I thank the Secretary of State for what she has said. Before I call the spokesman for the ...

Mr Speaker, I will of course endeavour to get through what I have to say in the protected time I ...

Does the hon. Gentleman share my puzzlement at the experience of those of us in our constituencie...

I absolutely take what the hon. Lady has said, and I think she is absolutely right. At the weeken...

Before the hon. Gentleman finishes his speech, will he address the question that I wanted to ask ...

The right hon. Gentleman will of course know that that has been SNP policy for some years, and I ...

This week, South Lanarkshire Council informed employees that they could lose their universal cred...

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. She is absolutely right, and I will be coming on to that ...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

For the last time, I will give way.

My hon. Friend is making a very good speech. I am advised by one of my housing associations that ...

I agree with my hon. Friend, and as a result, he may enjoy the conclusion of my speech.

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I will give again later, but I will make some progress now.

When universal credit is thrust...

Talking about the incredible losses under this policy, is it not tremendous that the Scottish Gov...

As ever, my hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Scottish Government have already spent £400 mill...

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that total spending on benefits relating to disabled people stands at...

The hon. Gentleman has completely ignored the points I mentioned that have been made by the CPAG ...

Is the hon. Gentleman concerned, as I am, by the fact that not only the NAO, but the Universities...

I completely agree with the hon. Lady. It is great to have her contribution, which should be list...

I could not get an answer to this yesterday. On the fact that the Government cannot prove that un...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. On making work pay, the CPAG says that rewards from work are ...

I will make some progress, to allow other Members to speak. [Interruption.] The Secretary of Stat...

No, I need to make some progress.

I have had dozens of emails about universal credit from c...

In my constituency office we have had 10 new UC cases already this month—we receive about 20 to 3...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is why we need to call for the changes to follow as quic...

Order.

With respect, Madam Deputy Speaker, I have protected time and there is a great deal that needs to...

Order. I am simply pointing out that a lot of Members wish to speak, and that the hon. Gentleman ...

The Opposition Front Bencher obviously made a decision about the length of their speech, and I am...

I want to start my remarks by noting the presence of my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingfor...

Does the right hon. Gentleman not agree that the problems with tax credit overpayments resulted f...

I was in the House at the time, and I am afraid that the Government were pushed into action and t...

No, I have made that point and want now to move on to the design of the system.

For me, the...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

We do not have very much time to speak. I am afraid the SNP Front Bencher took up a huge amount o...

For the record, I was one of those employers, and I got very frustrated that I could not give mor...

I agree with my hon. Friend that if the Chancellor is able to find some money—I always think it i...

I should not really be shocked. I have been an MP for long enough and I have heard the rhetoric f...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will not.

It is not unusual for Government programmes to run into trouble. I am a member ...

I thank the hon. Lady for taking an intervention. What I say to her, and I have said this before ...

I wish it was just one case. I would happily bring them all to the Minister and he can tell me ho...

My constituency has been operating the universal credit full service since January this year, so ...

Like my hon. Friend, I went along to the Jobcentre Plus in Cheltenham and I had the same experien...

Yes, that is an important factor. I also point out that Opposition Members often quote concerns r...

I hope that my friends in the Opposition will forgive me for saying this, but everybody in the Ch...

As my hon. Friend will understand, the claim is being made that some people who use those food ba...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not give way again because I do not have time. I pointed out that such people could visit ...

Universal credit is causing undeniable and massive hardship in my constituency. I see it in my ad...

The hon. Lady has said that many people on the Conservative Benches seem to think there is nothin...

I am tempted to say the Secretary of State, who has just left the Chamber and so is not listening...

I wrote a speech for today, but I am not going to stick to it. I must be honest: this place absol...

I am more than happy to make an intervention, although I am rather sorry I gave way to the hon. G...

With the greatest of respect, I have listened, and nobody has said that; nobody believes that uni...

rose—

No, I will not give way to the hon. Gentleman. The other thing I will not accept in this House is...

Order. Obviously this debate is heated, but it is important that the hon. Gentleman not refer to ...

rose—

I give way to the hon. Gentleman.

The thrust of my speech was an appeal for Conservative Members to listen to the experts. I listed...

If any Member assumes that individuals on the Conservative Benches are driven by anything other t...

Does the hon. Gentleman not remember that it was a Conservative Government who introduced univers...

The hon. Gentleman will be as aware as I am that people in this country are absolutely sick of La...

No, I will not give way any more. I have been on my feet for far too long already.

We must ...

No, I will not give way any more.

Have we more to do? Of course we have. Am I happy? Do I t...

Can we consider a different group, those with terminal illnesses such as motor neurone disease? A...

Conservative Members deprecate the personal experiences of any individuals who have been at the w...

Order. There have been so many interventions that speeches have lasted much longer than five minu...

The implementation of universal credit has been an object lesson in how not to carry out social s...

Let me say at the outset that I do not claim that everything about universal credit is perfect, o...

The hon. Gentleman is telling us about the faults of the previous system. Single parents are part...

I do not agree. There have been these transitional protections that we need to have in place. I a...

The Government’s 2010 White Paper said:

“The Government is committed to ensuring that no-on...

I want to focus on the principles behind UC and why it has been brought in, as that is the key to...

Will the right hon. Lady give way?

No, I will not. I do not have time.

We must also ensure that we fully provide the ladder of...

The right hon. Member for Witham (Priti Patel) is absolutely right to say that change is urgently...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for raising that important case. Would his constituent not have ...

She was not told about the availability of an advance payment. They are now being better publicis...

I appreciate the right hon. Gentleman giving way, not least because I might run out of time and n...

The hon. Lady makes an interesting suggestion, and I hope that her Front-Bench colleagues will li...

I am happy to follow the right hon. Member for East Ham (Stephen Timms). I agree with much of wha...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the indifferent broadband coverage in remote constituencies su...

That is probably a debate for a different day. Sticking with universal credit and managed migrati...

We are having this debate because of one man’s vision to radically reform the benefits system. Ha...

I am pleased to be able to contribute to this debate, and it is a joy to follow the hon. Member f...

My hon. Friend is giving some powerful first-hand testimony of speaking to Jobcentre Plus staff. ...

My hon. Friend is exactly right. That is what every single member of staff at the Jobcentre Plus ...

The Government’s universal credit policy is an utter shambles and a disgrace. Even if the origina...

I agree with the hon. Lady that universal credit needs to be adequately funded. Is she as surpris...

The hon. Gentleman should talk to the Chancellor about sorting out this policy, because, too ofte...

My right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith) is one of the ...

My hon. Friend has mentioned two categories: systemic problems and individual problems. Surely pe...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, as always. Where there have been systemic issues, measures ha...

A lorry load of salt.

He said we should take with a lorry load of salt what Conservative Members say about how UC opera...

Order. I am sorry, but there continue to be interventions and if we are to have any chance of get...

I am going to try to whizz through my points in the short time available, Madam Deputy Speaker. W...

The case for UC long predates this Government. Opposition Members will recall that Labour welfare...

Let me add a significant statistic: there are more than 800,000 vacancies in this country, so the...

High employment helps lots of different groups in our society, and so we have record rates of emp...

I am sure my hon. Friend was about to mention that we also have record employment levels among an...

My hon. Friend has taken the words out of my mouth; she has spiked my guns.

Of course we ne...

When the Prime Minister stood on the steps of Downing Street two years ago, she talked about figh...

I am pleased to speak in this vital debate, not only because when universal credit is rolled out ...

Totnes has a vibrant arts sector. My hon. Friend will know that many self-employed artists take l...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: it is a fact that universal credit was not built for self-emp...

Last Friday, I hosted a successful jobs fair in conjunction with my local jobcentre. The event wa...

I am pleased to be called to speak in the debate and to be given yet another opportunity to voice...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. [Interruption.] If Opposition Members will be quiet, I c...

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his intervention. I am sorry that he received the welco...

We are here today because this Government are intentionally concealing what they know to be the t...

Yet again we are debating universal credit and yet again I feel as if we are in a parallel univer...

On behalf of all the constituents who have contacted me about a range of difficulties to do with ...

The full roll-out of universal credit in Lowestoft that started in May 2016 has not been straight...

Wigan became a pathfinder because it wanted to influence the design and delivery of universal cre...

I am grateful to speak in the debate.

The real reason we are talking about universal credit...

Universal credit is actually coming to Willenhall in my constituency today. What advice would my ...

My hon. Friend raises a very important point. I can say that universal credit was rolled out in m...

It is clear to me that there is no doubt this Government’s roll-out of universal credit has been ...

It is a pleasure to speak in this important, if familiar, debate. I regret the way that it was fr...

My hon. Friend is making a valid point. Conservative Members do listen and do care. We are also a...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That brings me to my next point. It is important that the Gov...

We all believe in universal credit, but we also realise that it deals with some of the people in ...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Member who just spoke has only just come in. There...

Order. We are not wasting time on spurious points of order, because I want to try to get as many ...

Madam Deputy Speaker, I have been here for over an hour.

Order. The hon. Gentleman does not have a right of reply. He is here and that is the end of it.