Oral Answers to Questions Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateEmma Reynolds
Main Page: Emma Reynolds (Labour - Wycombe)Department Debates - View all Emma Reynolds's debates with the Department for Work and Pensions
(2 months ago)
Commons ChamberI welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place. Pensioners with a long-term health condition or disability may be eligible for disability-related benefits, such as disability living allowance or attendance allowance, and these benefits also provide for an additional amount in pension credit for those on low incomes.
The Government’s impersonal approach is cold comfort to thousands of disabled pensioners, including Ann in my constituency. She has to boil water to prevent infection and uses an electric nebuliser, and as a result she has high energy usage to protect her health. Can the Minister tell Ann what sacrifices she should make to protect her health this winter?
This is a decision that we neither wanted nor expected to make, but when we came into office there was a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. There are mitigations in place. We have extended the household support fund and the hon. Gentleman’s council will receive an extra £3.9 million. We are increasing the state pension. Through the triple lock, the state pension will increase by £1,700 in this Parliament. We will also deliver the warm home discount scheme, and I hope he will join me in making sure that every pensioner who is eligible for pension credit receives it, which will passport them to the winter fuel payment.
We know that 2 million older people currently live in poverty in this country, with millions more with incomes just above the poverty level. Does the Minister agree that the Government should set up a pensioner taskforce to look at how pensioner poverty can be tackled once and for all?
I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I will meet him and any other Members of this House who have concerns on this matter.
We have been running a national campaign since September across a range of channels, including print and broadcast media, to encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and make a claim, and we will continue to work with external partners, local authorities and devolved Governments to boost the take-up of pension credit.
Around 93% of pensioners in Mid Bedfordshire face losing the winter fuel payment this year; some of them earn less than £1,000 a month. What further support will the Minister give them to fill Labour’s black hole in their household finances so that they can keep warm this winter?
The winter fuel payment was once described as the
“largest benefit paid to pensioners…regardless of need, giving money to wealthier pensioners when working people on lower incomes do not get similar support.”
Those are not my words, but the words of the Tories’ 2017 manifesto.
Claiming pension credit can provide pensioners with additional help for housing costs, council tax and heating bills. We all have a duty to boost pension credit uptake to ensure that low-income pensioners in all our constituencies receive the necessary support. I welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister and the Work and Pensions Secretary collaborating with local authorities and charities for the annual pension credit week of action, which took place during recess. What more can be done to ensure that low-income pensioners receive pension credit?
We were pleased to see 160 local authorities respond positively to our call for action. They are working with us to drive the boost in uptake of pension credit. Apart from the national campaign that we have been running, we will bring together the administration of housing benefit and pension credit in a way that the former Government failed to do.
I was the first Minister for eight long years to meet Women Against State Pension Inequality campaigners to hear their experiences directly. However, we do need time to carefully consider the ombudsman’s report and evidence before we can outline our approach.
I have long supported women in Bedford born in the 1950s who have been failed by the DWP. We must do right by the WASPI women, some of whom are struggling to make ends meet. Will the Minister tell them today when the Government will respond to the report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, which recommended a compensation scheme?
The ombudsman’s report is a serious report that took six years to complete and deserves serious consideration. We are carefully reviewing the details of that complex report and will come to a conclusion in the round.
I echo the sentiments of the hon. Member for Bedford (Mohammad Yasin) on this serious injustice, which is being compounded by the lack of swift action for redress. It really matters to all our constituents, including mine in Norfolk and Suffolk, where I have spoken to the local WASPI women group, which highlighted just how a big an impact it is having, including on women born in the 1950s who are struggling to make ends meet. Will the Minister please set out the timescale by which she will respond to the report and the action that will be taken?
The ombudsman took six years to look into what is a serious, significant and complex set of cases. We need time to look at that seriously, and we are doing precisely that.
I thank the hon. Member for his question. I have looked into this issue, which has a long and complex history, and I would be very willing to meet him to discuss it in more detail.
In response to several hon. Members, Ministers have spoken about the complexity of the ombudsman’s report on the WASPI campaign. While appreciating that, may I ask for a statement in principle that the Government will eventually offer significant compensation to the WASPI women?
As I said previously, the ombudsman took six years to consider this complex case. We are looking into it very seriously, but I cannot make any announcements today. The right hon. Gentleman will have to wait for our announcement on this issue.