Jobcentre Plus: Closures

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Thursday 6th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

People who work in the hon. Lady’s constituency also travel to get to work. The fact is that we need a sensible and properly utilised jobcentre estate across the country, and that includes in London.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

More than 300 jobs will move from the Lonend site in Paisley to Glasgow, and this follows hundreds of job losses and transfers at Doosan Babcock and Chivas Brothers. This is the very last thing the Renfrewshire economy needs. Will the Secretary of State assure me that there will be zero redundancies as a result of this move?

[Mr Gauke]

The intention is to keep redundancies to a minimum but, as I made clear in my earlier remarks, the number of frontline staff in jobcentres in every nation and region of the country will be increasing, not reducing, over the course of the process.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 27th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Steven Paterson (Stirling) (SNP)]

12. What assessment he has made of the policy implications for his Department of the UK leaving the EU.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

18. What assessment he has made of the policy implications for his Department of the UK leaving the EU.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

23. What assessment he has made of the policy implications for his Department of the UK leaving the EU.

--- Later in debate ---

[Damian Green]

The Prime Minister has been clear that she wants to protect the rights of British citizens currently living in European member states, in the way that we want to protect the status of EU nationals already living here. That will clearly be an important matter for negotiation in the months ahead.

[Gavin Newlands]

Does the Secretary of State agree that his Government have form on failing to protect workers’ rights? Any illusion about ability to deliver social justice for workers went up in smoke with the Dickensian Trade Union Act 2016. How can we trust his Department to guarantee workers’ rights after article 50 is triggered?

[Damian Green]

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman has drawn the House’s attention to the fact that the Government have pledged to maintain workers’ rights in the course of the negotiations. I am happy also that he gives me the chance to remind the House that the greatest workers’ right is the right to a job, and that employment is at its highest ever level in this country.

Personal Independence Payments

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Wednesday 15th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Damian Green]

I do not agree with the hon. Lady’s characterisation of what the SSAC said. The SSAC has the power to consult if it wants to recommend that we should not proceed, and it has specifically decided not to do that kind of consultation. Her characterisation of what the SSAC has said is off beam.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

Thousands of disabled people who rely on the Motability scheme have had their car removed by this Government. In November 2016 the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work said that the Government were looking at allowing PIP claimants to keep their car pending appeal, and possibly at widening access to the scheme. Three weeks ago the Prime Minister was unable to answer my question and update the House on the progress of that review, and she promised to write an as-yet undelivered letter to me. Can the Secretary of State update the House today?

[Damian Green]

Not with any detail. We are conducting a review, and when that review is finished I will update the House.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 21st November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Richard Harrington]

As the hon. Gentleman is aware, there is a very good benefit system in this country and people in every area are well aware of how to access it. There are Jobcentre Plus offices and help available in every local area. If right hon. or hon. Members wish to write to me about individual constituents, as they do, I will be happy to refer them to the places in their local areas.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

8. What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential effect of the autumn statement on his Department.

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

12. What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential effect of the autumn statement on his Department.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Damian Green)]

I am happy to confirm that I work closely with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor, and hon. Members will not be surprised to hear that I will not be pre-empting what he will be saying in his statement to the House on Wednesday.

[Gavin Newlands]

That is a shame. The Resolution Foundation has suggested that the best way to help the 6 million just-managing households would be to scrap the planned cuts to universal credit, including the reduction in work allowances that could see losses of up £2,800 for a working single parent. Does the Secretary of State agree that, on Wednesday, the Government need to move beyond the soundbites and reverse these cuts before low-income families pay the price?

[Damian Green]

No, I do not agree. The hon. Gentleman will be aware of the tremendous successes we have achieved in getting people into work. We have employment at historic high rates. Very specifically, because of the introduction of the living wage, the latest Office for National Statistics data show that the group whose pay is going up the most—more than 6% last year—are the lowest-paid workers. I think that that is the system working exactly as it should.

Supported Housing: Benefit

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

I am pleased to take part in today’s debate, which follows a Westminster Hall debate on refuges in May, when we discussed similar matters. I want to concentrate on the threat that the proposed capping of housing benefit to the local housing allowance rate in the social sector poses to people fleeing violent relationships.

It is clear that this cut will have a devastating impact on the continuing provision of Scottish refuge accommodation. At the moment, with no clarity about when or if the changes will be introduced, these extremely vulnerable people face the threat of literally being left out in the cold. I am aware, from having spoken to several survivors of domestic violence, that the point at which someone decides to leave a violent relationship is one of the most critical points in their lives and those of their children. It is absolutely vital that adequate support is available to anyone at the moment they decide to leave such a relationship. The availability of such support is often a deciding factor for the abused in choosing to leave the abuser.

Let us give the Government the benefit of the doubt. I do not believe—I certainly hope—that this policy announcement was made with a complete and full understanding of the consequences of capping for refuges. However, this has now gone on for far too long, and we need a resolution. These absolutely vital services must be protected. The new Government have a chance to change the record and show they are different from their predecessors, whose ideological austerity drive proved time and again that they knew the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

Analysis carried out by Angus Women’s Aid has found that refuge costs are significantly higher than the local housing allowance rate. The examples provided show that annual losses caused by the introduction of the cap will vary from £5,800 to £11,600 a year. The former Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners’ Rights, Alex Neil, said categorically in a letter to the UK Government last February that without the current levels of housing benefit to cover the additional costs, refuges would be forced to close.

Despite the cautious welcome that I and others have given to the Government’s new violence against women and girls strategy that was announced in March, which offered some reassurance about ongoing funding for front-line services, we should not allow ourselves to ignore the challenges that such services face. Women’s Aid has highlighted the funding pressure that the services are under and warned that lives will be lost unless a more secure and long-term funding settlement is in place.

According to Women’s Aid, between 2010 and 2014 there was a 17% reduction in the number of refuges run by dedicated domestic abuse service providers and, shamefully, a third of refuge referrals are turned away due to lack of capacity. The Government must ensure that capacity is built back up, not diminished, to ensure that no one who is abused is turned away from the support that they seek.

Dr Marsha Scott from Scottish Women’s Aid has said that the policy of capping housing benefit may create an environment where women are unable to escape a violent relationship. We must not be put in a position where a person is unable to flee a violent relationship because they cannot afford the accommodation costs in a refuge. It is unacceptable that we face the risk that people will be locked in violent relationships because they cannot afford to seek help.

The risk is especially high for people aged under 35, who under the proposals will be restricted to the shared accommodation rate. According to Scottish Women’s Aid:

“In 2014-15, the 26-30 years old age group had the highest incident rate of domestic abuse recorded by the Police in Scotland. Women in this age group clearly have a significant need for domestic abuse support services—including refuge accommodation.”

Even Lord Freud has admitted that this policy has had “unintended consequences” for the public purse. He gave a commitment to Scottish Women’s Aid that he would protect refuge accommodation from any unintended consequences resulting from welfare reform. I call on him to honour that promise and find a solution as soon as possible.

The UK Government have left tenants in uncertainty over their future housing situation. Using discretionary housing payments to top up the gap between LHA and the actual costs of supported accommodation is simply not secure enough. Angus Women’s Aid has stated that that will create additional barriers and risks for women and children who are experiencing domestic abuse and seeking refuge. They will be subject to a postcode lottery because local authorities will decide whose support needs can be met—or not. DHPs should be used to ensure that people are protected, not to mitigate bad and ill-thought-out Tory policies.

To conclude, I strongly urge the Government to reconsider their approach and offer full protection for women and children by ensuring that supported accommodation, including refuges, is exempt from the housing benefit cap. Simply delaying the changes is not good enough; these devastating changes must be stopped, and stopped now.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 2nd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Joanna Cherry (Edinburgh South West) (SNP)]

7. If he will make an assessment of the potential effect of benefit sanctions on claimants’ mental health.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

15. If he will make an assessment of the potential effect of benefit sanctions on claimants’ mental health.

[The Minister for Employment (Priti Patel)]

Many factors affect an individual’s mental health. To assess the effect of sanctions in isolation of all other factors would be misleading. A number of checks are built into the system to support all claimants, including those with mental health concerns.

--- Later in debate ---

[Priti Patel]

Sanctions play an important part in the labour market by encouraging and supporting people to go back to work. Jobcentre Plus staff are trained to support claimants with mental health conditions during their job search and such individuals have access to more expert advice, should it be needed.

[Gavin Newlands]

Is the Minister aware that her disastrous and failing sanctions regime is not only causing untold misery to the people who are sanctioned, impacting on their wellbeing and mental health, but having a devastating impact on their families? A recent Citizens Advice Scotland report highlighted the fact that children are indirectly punished by sanctions. In the light of those alarming findings, will she reassess the impact of sanctions on the wellbeing of the family? Do they pass the Prime Minister’s family test?

[Priti Patel]

Our sanctions system is robust and there is clear evidence that it works. The hon. Gentleman mentions support for the family. It is this Government who are supporting the family through our new life chances measure and, importantly, ensuring that work pays, which is how families get out of poverty and how the life chances of children and families improve.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 7th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I am very happy to see my hon. Friend myself. If what he is suggesting has happened, it should not have done, and let us put it right.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

T7. Will the Secretary of State support Oxfam’s calls for the Welfare Reform and Work Bill to include a requirement for his Government to publish a poverty strategy that would properly address the issue of low pay and tax credit cuts? Please note: the answer is not the Chancellor’s entirely bogus living wage.

[Mr Duncan Smith]

We are focused constantly on trying to get incomes up, and we are looking to do that through the raising of the national living wage announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor. For this Government, the No. 1 thing we need to do to make sure that people get out of poverty is to get them back to work. There are some of the best employment figures in Scotland thanks to this Government.

Welfare Reform and Work Bill

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 20th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)]

The Bill’s title is one of the finest examples of doublespeak I have seen outside of Orwell’s own texts. The Bill is not about welfare reform; it is about welfare cuts. As for being about work, I repeat what I said last week in my maiden speech: this Government must realise that they cannot threaten, demonise or sanction people into work.

It is absolutely clear that the best route out of poverty is work, but we must keep open the safety net of the social security system for those who cannot work permanently or temporarily. The Bill cuts away many of the links in that safety net and will leave people to fall through into poverty. For example, removing the work-related activity component of ESA just punishes those who are sick or temporarily unable to work through no fault of their own.

ESA is supposed to be available for people identified as having a “limited capability for work” as a result of sickness or disability. According to the House of Commons Library briefing, there were just short of 500,000 ESA claimants in that group in November 2014. Of those, 250,000 suffer from mental ill health or behavioural disorders. Under this cut, claimants will receive £1,500 less than they do now, which is an absolute scandal.

The chief executive of Mind, Paul Farmer, has said:

“People being supported by ESA receive a higher rate than those on JSA because they face additional barriers as a result of their illness or disability, and typically take longer to move into work. Almost 60 per cent of people on JSA move off the benefit within 6 months, while almost 60 per cent of people in the WRAG need this support for at least two years. It is unrealistic to expect people to survive on £73 a week for this length of time.”

I could not agree more. This cut does nothing to encourage people into work. It just forces them into poverty, and will ultimately push people with mental health issues and illnesses, which have held them back from work, further to the margins of society.

Yet again, we have heard welfare described in this debate as a lifestyle choice, which is utterly shameful. I say to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Michael Tomlinson) and his colleagues, “There by the grace of God go I”. We never know when mental illness will affect us, our friends, colleagues or family members. It does not happen by choice; yet this Government have chosen to cut the support available to help them to return to work. It is disgraceful.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

My hon. Friend mentioned sanctions. As reported in today’s Paisley Daily Express, my constituent Colleen Duncan has had her benefits stopped erroneously not just once, but twice. The first time was for not attending a meeting that she actually attended. The second sanction was for missing a back-to-work interview when she was actually securing a job by attending a job interview. Does he agree that we cannot trust the Government to implement fuller welfare reform when they cannot run the current system properly?

[Neil Gray]

My hon. Friend makes a point that any SNP Member could have made, and he makes his point well on his constituent’s behalf. I hope that the Minister for Employment was listening.

The four-year benefits and tax credits freeze will reduce the real terms value of benefits received by most working-age recipients. The IFS has estimated that 13 million families across these isles will lose an average of £5 per week as a result of the freeze. That includes 7.4 million families in work, whose incomes will drop on average by £280 per year. That £5 may be a cheap lunch for some Conservative Members, but £5 a week could be the difference between heating or eating, new school shoes for the kids or getting transport to their work. Taking money from those in low-income jobs does not make work pay; it just pushes them closer to the breadline.

SNP Members came into politics to pursue progressive policies and social justice and if we are to stay true to that—I am looking at Labour Members—we cannot do anything other than oppose the Bill. As the IFS has pointed out, when the measures are taken in the round with other Budget measures, we can see the real winners and losers. The poorest four income deciles will see their annual net income cut by between 3% and 8%, or a drop of between £600 and £1,300. The higher up the income deciles, the smaller the income decline until the ninth decile, the second richest in society, who are to receive a net income rise.

What happened to the social solidarity Scotland was promised last year? What happened to the pooling and sharing of resources? What happened to the promises that our social security system would be safe with a no vote? They are all nailed to the wall, with this Bill and the Budget, as being utter fabrications, myths and untruths. The Bill, along with the Budget, is part of this Tory Government’s ideological, social-engineering agenda. They are punishing the poor, the disadvantaged, the sick and low-income working families for economic failings that are not of their doing. Hon. Members should see that this Bill will take our society backwards and vote against it.

Child Poverty

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Thursday 25th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Duncan Smith]

That is exactly the point. It is work that takes people out of poverty. We must support those who are furthest away and have the greatest difficulty, but we want the rest of them to move into work. We want the barriers, the debt problems and all those issues to be removed and we want to get them into work. We want to improve their kids’ education and improve their life chances. My hon. Friend is spot on.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

A failure to increase child benefit and child tax credit in line with the cost of living means that more than one in five families struggle to provide the basics for their children. Given that unacceptable situation, does the Secretary of State support the End Child Poverty campaign calling on the Government to give children’s benefits the same triple lock protection as the state pension?

[Mr Duncan Smith]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his post. May I say that the latest figures from Scotland show a fall of 40,000 in the number in relative poverty between 2012-13 and 2013-14? Our position is to help the worst-off, to support pensioners through the triple lock and to get all of them into a sustained life of good income.