The Secretary of State’s Handling of Universal Credit
Debate between Catherine West and Margaret Greenwood(5 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Margaret Greenwood
The right hon. Gentleman should go back and re-read the report.
On 4 July, the Secretary of State finally admitted that she had “inadvertently” misled Parliament in claiming that the roll-out should be speeded up. This matters not just because she admitted that she had misled Parliament, but, as I will explain later, because the Government have sharply accelerated the roll-out of universal credit since May and because, from next year it, they will start a managed migration of 3.9 million people on legacy benefits across to universal credit.
Catherine West (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Lab)
Does my hon. Friend agree that the evidence on the use of food banks needs to be urgently looked at before the roll-out can continue?
Margaret Greenwood
My hon. Friend makes an absolutely pertinent remark. The prevalence of food banks in our society is a source of shame on this Government.