Tag: Speeches

Cat Smith – 2022 Parliamentary Question on the Cost of Living for Pensioners

The parliamentary question asked by Cat Smith, the Labour MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, in the House of Commons on 5 December 2022.

Cat Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Lab)

What steps his Department is taking to support pensioners with increases in the cost of living.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Laura Trott)

All pensioner households are in the process of receiving an extra £300 to help them cover the rising cost of energy this winter. For those in receipt of pension credit, the second cost of living payment of £324 was issued in November.

Cat Smith

Rural pensioners face additional challenges to the cost of living crisis, and I have recently heard from constituents in the villages of Forton and Winmarleigh who are still waiting for information from the Government on the payment of the alternative fuel payment scheme, as they are off grid. Additionally, the removal of the Bay Plus Megarider bus ticket has increased the price of bus tickets, which may not directly affect those pensioners, but where they are supporting adult children and school-age children in their households, it is impacting on their family budgets. What steps are the Government taking to support pensioners who live in rural parts?

Laura Trott

I recognise a lot of the challenges that the hon. Lady mentions, and this is why we are giving pensioners £850, and people on pension credit £1,500, to get through this winter.

Sir David Evennett

I welcome my hon. Friend to her position and I would like to thank her for the answer she has just given us. I wish her well in her job. The Government’s £300 boost to the winter fuel payment will give pensioners vital support this winter, and I know it is much appreciated by my constituents. However, will she join me in encouraging pensioners on low incomes to look into whether they are eligible for pension credit and to submit an application for this additional support as soon as possible?

Laura Trott

I thank my right hon. Friend for his question. He is, as always, absolutely right. I know that he visited Age UK recently and raised these issues. It is vital that any pensioners receiving less than £182.60 a week look into whether they are eligible for pension credit, and if they are, they should try to claim it before 18 December, because the cost of living payment of £324 can be backdated.

06/12/2022
Justin Tomlinson – 2022 Parliamentary Question on Processing Times for Personal Independence Payments

The parliamentary question asked by Justin Tomlinson, the Conservative MP for North Swindon, in the House of Commons on 5 December 2022.

Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon) (Con)

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of processing times for personal independence payments.

The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Tom Pursglove)

We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through PIP in a timely manner. By prioritising new claims, increasing resources and using different assessment channels, we reduced the average new claim process from 26 weeks in August 2021 to 18 weeks in October 2022.

Justin Tomlinson

Capacity is key to assessment. What progress is being made to extend the severe conditions criteria in the PIP system, learning the lessons of the changes we have made to the special rules for the terminally ill, which would potentially allow us to remove 300,000 unnecessary assessments from the system, benefiting claimants and the taxpayer?

Tom Pursglove

I am hugely grateful to my hon. Friend, who is of course a distinguished former Minister for disabled people and whose views on these matters I listen to incredibly carefully. We announced in “Shaping future support: the health and disability green paper” that we will test a new severe disability group, so that those with severe and lifelong conditions can benefit from a simplified process to access PIP, employment and support allowance and universal credit without needing to go through a face-to-face assessment or frequent reassessments. We will consider the test results, once they are complete, to influence thinking on the next stages of this work.

06/12/2022
Dehenna Davison – 2022 Statement on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund

The statement made by Dehenna Davison, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in the House of Commons on 5 December 2022.

Today, my Department is announcing the outcome of the UK shared prosperity fund—UKSPF—investment plan validation process: the approval of plans for England, Scotland and Wales, and the publication of the UKSPF investment plan for Northern Ireland.

When we launched the UKSPF prospectus in April, my Department outlined the ambition of the fund to invest in domestic priorities and target funding where it is needed most: building pride in place; growing pay, employment and productivity; supporting high-quality skills training; and increasing life chances across the UK. This announcement represents a significant step in delivering on this ambition.

Councils and mayoral authorities across England, Scotland and Wales have worked with the private sector, civil society and others, as well as the devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales, to develop local investment plans. These plans set out how funding will be targeted on local priorities, against measurable goals. All investment plans for England, Scotland and Wales have now been validated and approved, unlocking three years of investment, and we now expect UKSPF delivery to commence in earnest.

In Northern Ireland, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is responsible for delivery of the UKSPF. My Department has worked closely with key partners and other stakeholders to develop the UKSPF Northern Ireland investment plan, ensuring it reflects the needs and opportunities of Northern Ireland’s economy and its people. The plan published today outlines the specific interventions that will be supported, and how these will be delivered. Information regarding project funding, including commissions and our plans for project competitions, will be announced shortly.

The delivery of the UKSPF, worth £2.6 billion including Multiply, is a central pillar of this Government’s levelling-up agenda and a significant component of its support for places across the UK. As such, today’s announcement reaffirms our manifesto commitment to match EU structural fund receipts in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and all areas of England.

The approval of investment plans kickstarts delivery in every part of the country and will lead to visible, tangible improvements to the places where people work and live. Alongside investment in skills, supporting those furthest from the labour market and promoting community cohesion, this will give individuals right across the UK even more reasons to be proud of their area.

06/12/2022
Michael Gove – 2022 Statement on the Homelessness Prevention Grant

The statement made by Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in the House of Commons on 5 December 2022.

The Government understand the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and have taken decisive action to support households. This includes the energy price guarantee, to support households with their energy bills over the winter, and a further £37 billion of support for the cost of living this year. At autumn statement the Chancellor also unveiled £26 billion of support to protect the most vulnerable households in 2023-24.

I recognise that some vulnerable households may find themselves at risk of homelessness and may need additional support. The Government want to make sure councils are able to respond effectively to support households and prevent homelessness.

Homelessness Prevention Grant—winter 2022 financial support

I am therefore announcing an additional £50 million that will be made available to local authorities in England in 2022-23 through a top-up to the homelessness prevention grant. The additional funding will support local authorities to help prevent vulnerable households from becoming homeless. Local authorities will target this funding to those who need it most to help manage local homelessness pressures.

The details of individual local authority allocations can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/homelessness-prevention-grant-2022-to-2023. This additional £50 million investment builds on the £316 million in funding already available to local authorities through the homelessness prevention grant for 2022-23, bringing total spend through that grant to £366 million. This is part of £2 billion of Government funding to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next three years.

06/12/2022
Kevin Hollinrake – 2022 Statement on the Government Response to the Flexible Working Consultation

The statement made by Kevin Hollinrake, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in the House of Commons on 5 December 2022.

The Government have today published their response to the consultation on flexible working. This delivers on our manifesto commitment to encourage flexible working, and represents an important part of our drive to deliver growth by helping people to access and stay in work.

Flexible Working Consultation Response

In 2021, the Government consulted on changes to the right to request flexible working. This right currently supports all employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service to make applications to change their work location, working hours and/or working pattern. The legislation enables employees and employers to find arrangements that work for both sides. The consultation proposals were intended to help ensure it remains fit for purpose.

The response, published today, states that the Government will legislate to:

Make the right to request flexible working a day one right. This will bring an estimated additional 2.2 million people into scope of the legislation and encourage early conversations about flexibility in the job design, recruitment and appointment phases. Supporting employees and employers to agree flexible working arrangements from day one will be an important measure in the context of a tight labour market, as it will assist those who wish to return to work but can only do so on certain patterns.

Introduce a new requirement for employers to consult with the employee when they intend to reject their flexible working request. This will enable both parties to explore the types of flexibility that may be available within the specific role before reaching a conclusion.

Allow two statutory requests in any 12-month period, rather than the current one request. This will help to ensure that individuals do not feel “trapped” in certain work arrangements they know are not sustainable for them, particularly in the event that their circumstances change within 12 months.

Require a decision period of two months in respect of a statutory flexible working request, rather than the current three. This acknowledges that long delays in responding to requests can lead to negative outcomes for both employers and employees, for example where a response is needed quickly, and the alternative is the person dropping out of work.

Remove the existing requirement that the employee must explain what effect, if any, the change applied for would have on the employer and how that effect might be dealt with. This will create a level playing field among those making requests as it will mean the legislation no longer favours those with more experience or better writing skills.

The first of these measures will be delivered through secondary legislation. The other measures require primary legislation, and the Government are pleased to support the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill introduced by the hon. Member for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi).

The response also commits to non-legislative action: developing guidance to raise awareness and understanding of how to make and administer temporary requests for flexible working; and launching a call for evidence to better understand how informal flexible working operates in practice.

As a package, these steps will encourage better two-way conversations about flexible working and prompt both the employer and employee to focus on identifying an arrangement that works for them both.

The review of the Flexible Working Regulations 2014 showed that flexible working can reduce vacancy costs, increase skill retention, enhance business performance, and reduce staff absenteeism rates. In the current context of a tight labour market, flexible working can also play a key role in attracting people into work. Research conducted by the Behavioural Insights Team has shown that offering flexible working can attract up to 30% more applicants to job vacancies, and a recent Office for National Statistics publication revealed that older workers working flexibly would be more likely to say they were planning to retire later. Strengthening the legislative framework will therefore help to ensure that those who are under-represented in the workforce have access to more employment opportunities.

The Government recognise there is no one-size-fits-all approach to work arrangements since the needs of businesses and individuals will differ in each circumstance. It is therefore important that the legislation remains a right to request, not a right to have, and that employers continue to be able to refuse requests for specified business reasons.

The territorial extent of the proposals included in the Government’s consultation response extends to Great Britain—employment law is devolved to Northern Ireland.

I will place copies of the consultation response in the Libraries of the House.

06/12/2022
Brendan O’Hara – 2022 Statement Calling for Suspension of Michelle Mone

The statement made by Brendan O’Hara, the SNP spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, on 4 December 2022.

Rishi Sunak pledged when he took office that he would lead a government with integrity.

It is now only right that he matches that rhetoric with action and suspends the whip from Baroness Mone and addresses the serious questions hanging over this entire shameful episode.

Of course perhaps the reason the Tory government doesn’t want to talk about Baroness Mone’s millions is that she is only the tip of a very large iceberg of its politically connected pals who benefited like this.

That is why there should be an independent investigation into the full extent of this profiteering at a time of national crisis.

I think most fair-minded people would agree it is obscene that people were able to make such vast profits from a government PPE contract while the country suffered through the pandemic.

05/12/2022
Matt Hancock – 2022 Comments on the Personal Integrity and Conduct of Michelle Mone (Baroness Mone)

The comments made by Matt Hancock, the former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, serialised by the Daily Mail on 5 December.

Baroness Michelle Mone has sent me an extraordinarily aggressive email complaining that a company she’s helping isn’t getting the multi-million-pound contracts it deserves. She claims the firm, which makes lateral flow test kits, ‘has had a dreadful time’ trying to cut through red tape and demanded my ‘urgent help’ before it all comes out in the media.

‘I am going to blow this all wide open,’ she threatened.

In essence, she’s not at all happy that a US company called Innova has secured so many contracts while others ‘can’t get in the game’. She claims test kits made by the company she’s representing, and by several others, have all passed rigorous quality control checks but only Innova is getting the business.

05/12/2022
Julie Morgan – 2022 Statement on the Review into the Death of Logan Mwangi

The statement made by Julie Morgan, the Welsh Deputy Minister for Social Services, on 29 November 2022.

Diolch, Llywydd. The death of any child is a cause of great sadness and I want to start by expressing my own deep sorrow at Logan Mwangi’s death, and to take this opportunity to offer my sincere condolences to Mr Ben Mwangi and Logan’s wider family for their awful loss.

The publication last week of the child practice review following the murder of Logan has, I am sure, been an extremely difficult time for Logan’s father and family, especially as it has brought to public attention further details regarding the events that resulted in Logan’s life being taken at such an early age. My heart goes out to him and to everyone affected by Logan’s death.

I have read the report very carefully and I understand and accept the learning themes and recommendations made. At this stage, it would not be appropriate for me to respond in precise detail to all of the recommendations made, as further conversations are necessary with service providers. However, I am wholly committed to doing everything in my power to protect children and to pursue through the courts those who inflict such dreadful pain and misery on the most vulnerable in our society, and I will keep Members informed as work progresses.

The purpose of the child practice review is not that of investigation, but to consider our services and help us to learn what we can to improve what we can do to protect children. I am grateful to the review panel for ensuring that they considered areas of learning that have been identified in other reviews throughout Wales and England while conducting this child practice review. It is right that we continue to consider the learning from other such tragic incidents in formulating the approach that is required to make improvements to ensure the protection of children in Wales.

It is, however, a sad and recurring fact that such reviews share, in many cases, similar themes, particularly regarding challenges in sharing knowledge and information across agencies, issues regarding systems and processes, and concerns about leadership and culture. We would all wish for a world where such events as these could never happen and that this would be the last case of its kind. That we cannot always identify individuals who could act like those convicted of Logan’s murder would suggest that it won’t be. However, that must not prevent us from doing everything in our power to reduce the risk as much as we can and provide the help that children in Logan’s position need and deserve.

The review clearly demonstrates that there is scope for practice improvement. Our focus must be to concentrate on the four key learning themes identified within the review that must be considered with the same care and urgency as the 10 local and five national recommendations identified. The learning themes identified are described in the report as being systematic and not isolated instances of individual error or poor practice. It is clear to see from the review that the recommendations are not allocated to one single agency. Child protection requires a multi-agency approach and, as such, all actions required to address these learning themes and implement the recommendations must be taken forward together, based on shared responsibility.

The National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 set out the statutory duties for local authorities and local health boards in Wales. While these agencies, of course, must always adhere to such legislation, I will be looking to strengthen the ways in which agencies in Wales work more closely together to deliver our essential services. We all have a responsibility to implement the learning identified within this child practice review and to work together to carry out the actions required to effect change in the systems in which our professionals work and to support them in delivering their work. I expect all relevant agencies to consider the child practice review in full, to take immediate steps to consider how each theme and recommendation applies to them, and to identify how the learning themes and recommendations can be acted upon within the areas for which they are responsible. I will be contacting the senior leaders of agencies who have a responsibility in taking forward the recommendations of the review to ascertain their intended course of action in terms of their response to the child practice review.

Welsh Government has a key strategic role in protecting children, especially the most vulnerable, and I fully accept my role as a Minister in that. In the light of this review and following the report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse and work already under way in relation to our children’s services transformation programme and elsewhere, I will be accelerating work on a national practice framework to help inform decision making in children’s services. The framework will be a key foundation for how we work in Wales to ensure the best outcomes for our most vulnerable children. It’ll help us achieve greater commonality and more seamless working at local, regional and national level so that we can support children to remain with their families, and provide them with the support they need as we transition to fitting services around people, not people around services.

Care Inspectorate Wales have agreed to undertake a rapid review of structures and processes in place to inform decisions about how a child is added to or removed from a child protection register, and I will act on their findings, as necessary. I am aware of the calls for an independent inquiry into children’s services in Wales. Having now read the child practice review, I remain convinced that the time is now for action and not for further review. The findings and recommendations of the child practice review have been generated with consideration of other reviews in England and Wales, and it must be our priority to do what we can now and not wait for another report to tell us what we know already that we have to do.

To improve the multi-agency approach that I have outlined today, I want to remind Members that we are in the final stages of developing the single unified safeguarding review, which has been developed jointly with stakeholders across Wales. The single unified safeguarding review has been developed to reduce the need for multiple reviews against a same single incident, enabling the swifter completion of reviews, such as child and adult practice reviews, to identify and implement all learning more quickly and on a pan-Wales basis. The draft statutory guidance to support the single unified safeguarding review will be subject to a public consultation exercise, which is planned for early in the new year.

Whilst it’s not routine practice to respond to child practice reviews, I and my Cabinet colleagues felt that it was entirely appropriate to recognise the publication of this review, and I’d like to take this opportunity to personally apologise to Mr Ben Mwangi and his family for the failings that contributed to the tragic loss of Logan’s young life. Diolch.

03/12/2022
Jane Hutt – November 2022 Update on Ukraine

The statement made by Jane Hutt, the Welsh Minister for Social Justice, in the Welsh Parliament on 22 November 2022.

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to provide an update to Members about our ongoing work to support people from Ukraine seeking sanctuary in Wales.

When I last updated you in October, Wales had welcomed just under 6,000 Ukrainians under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, including under our supersponsor route. Arrivals have continued at a slow but steady pace, and just over 6,100 Ukrainians sponsored by the Welsh Government and Welsh households had arrived in Wales by 15 November. There have been additional arrivals under the Ukraine family scheme, but we are not given that data by the UK Government.

More than 8,450 visas have now been granted to people from Ukraine who have sponsors in Wales, so we can expect the number of arrivals to continue to grow. We are mindful that events in Ukraine can have a direct impact on the number of Ukrainians who may arrive in Wales, and although we have seen a small number of individuals seeking to return to Wales after a period back in Ukraine, we are not seeing a significant change at present.

I was very disappointed not to see any clarity in the autumn statement about the financial future of the Ukraine schemes. We have repeatedly called for funding parity between the Homes for Ukraine scheme and the Ukraine family scheme and the Ukraine extension scheme. We urgently need confirmation of year 2 and 3 funding to support the delivery of public services, as well as continued and uplifted host ‘thank you’ payments. The latter would ensure hosting arrangements can continue despite cost-of-living impacts.

Without certainty around future funding, Welsh Government, local government and Welsh hosts are all facing difficult choices about the support we can provide to Ukrainians seeking sanctuary. We hope the UK Government will provide this clarity quickly. In response to my letters to UK Ministers about these issues, I am pleased to say that I heard from the new lead Minister for Homes for Ukraine, Felicity Buchan MP, last week. Despite this uncertainty about the finances, a meeting has been convened for Thursday with the Scottish Government Minister, Neil Gray MSP, and myself, regarding our financial position.

We remain focused on supporting people into longer term accommodation, so that they can have more settled lives. Over 700 Ukrainians being supported via the supersponsor route have now moved on from initial accommodation, over 500 of these within Wales, either with hosts, in the private rented sector or in other transitional and longer term housing. However, the wider pressures on housing across Wales mean that we cannot support people into longer term accommodation as quickly as we would like. We will therefore, continue to urge potential hosts to come forward and register an interest at gov.wales/offerhome. Hosting provides swift, flexible and cost-effective accommodation that enables people to regain some independence and to integrate with local communities. We know that some individuals and families have come forward to offer their homes and are still waiting to become hosts. I’m very grateful for their generosity. We are working closely with local authorities and Housing Justice Cymru to help support the matching process. But we still have nowhere near enough hosts to accommodate all who need support. We would also urge those thinking about hosting to visit Housing Justice Cymru’s website and join an introduction to hosting seminar to find out more.

I’d like to focus the rest of this statement on an important commemoration that we discussed in this Chamber in May. This November marks the start of the ninetieth anniversary of the Holodomor in Ukraine. This was the man-made famine that caused millions to die and was bravely exposed to the world, in part, by Welsh journalist Gareth Jones. The debate in May was an important reflection on those events and we committed to commemorating the event in Wales.

On the fourth Saturday in each November, Holodomor is commemorated internationally. We will be organising an event at Alexandra Gardens in Cardiff, alongside so many other important memorials to peace. The event will include participation by me, the First Minister and Counsel General, local government, religious leaders, and the deputy ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom. Ukrainians will be invited to attend and we will lay wreaths to remember those who suffered during previous actions perpetrated by a government in Moscow. After the commemoration, we will promote Holodomor remembrance on our social media channels to try to raise awareness further. Last week, we also wrote to hosts across Wales to ensure they knew about Holodomor and encouraged them to discuss plans with their guests.

Putin’s current atrocities in Ukraine are part of a longer term pattern of aggression against the people of Ukraine stretching back many decades, and marking Holodomor in this way shines a light on this. Gareth Jones, the journalist from Wales, writing about the man-made famine instigated by Stalin made clear that the affected Ukrainians did not seek pity and he remarked upon their fortitude. I think we can all see those characteristics on show in Ukraine again today. And whilst we honour the resilience and courage of the Ukrainian people in the face of Putin’s aggression, we also reaffirm our commitment to help Ukrainians here in Wales to record their knowledge of war crimes committed in more recent times.

Through the founding of Donetsk and the reporting of Gareth Jones, as well as the more-than 500 Ukrainians who called Wales home before this conflict, our countries had several threads that connected us. Now, we are home to probably more than 7,000 Ukrainians and those many threads between our peoples bind us together more strongly than ever. I know all Members will join me in expressing Welsh solidarity with all Ukrainians on the anniversary of Holodomor.

03/12/2022
Hannah Blythyn – 2022 Statement on Supporting Armed Forces and Veterans Communities in Wales

The statement made by Hannah Blythyn, the Deputy Minister for Social Partnership in Wales, on 21 November 2022.

Following the recent Remembrance period during which the country paid tribute to our Service People, Veterans and their families, I am pleased to inform Senedd Members of two significant and positive developments that will help support delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant across Wales.

The Office for National Statistics and Office for Veterans Affairs launched a UK-wide Veterans Survey on 10 November. The survey aims to learn more about the lives of the UK Armed Forces community, veterans and their families. The questions in the survey ask about access to services and circumstances since leaving the Armed Forces. It also asks about lifestyle, health and well-being. The Welsh Government has been fully involved in the development of the survey, alongside our counterparts from across the Devolved nations. The anonymous data from the survey will enable the Welsh Government, UK Government departments, public bodies and charities to further fine tune our plans for meeting the needs of Veterans into the future.

Early indications are of a significant response to the survey, including from Wales. The survey is anticipated to close in February 2023 and Senedd Members can help in extending its reach. The survey can be found at: Veterans’ Survey – Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

I am also pleased to inform Senedd Members that the Armed Forces Covenant Duty will come into force on 22 November 2022. As I updated Members of the Senedd in October 2021, the duty will have implications for public bodies working in health, housing and education. Bodies will be expected to pay due regard to the Covenant when developing, delivering and reviewing policies and decisions relating to the Armed Forces community and to help improve their access to public services. We have worked with the UK Government to develop the Statutory Guidance to accompany this duty, which can be found at: Armed Forces Covenant Duty Statutory Guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

03/12/2022