Oral Answers to Questions

Grahame Morris Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Justin Tomlinson)]

When it is safe to do so, I would love to visit and see the work of RCS. I pay tribute to the great work it is doing in its community. We understand the role of good mental wellbeing and helping individuals into the job market, and in Wales we have provided £1.3 million to test the new individual placement and support. We also provide contracted employment support programmes specifically tailored to disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, as well as administering the Access to Work scheme and the Disability Confident campaign.

[Grahame Morris (Easington) (Lab)]

Will the Minister confirm that senior management in the Department for Work and Pensions are suggesting that an additional 31,000 staff are needed to cope with increased universal credit claims? We have heard from Ministers that this week they are reopening jobcentres and reintroducing conditionality and sanctions, at a time when the Department has nowhere near the required number of staff available. Surely this action will heap stress and suffering on claimants and staff alike, so what measures will the Minister introduce to avoid this chaos?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mims Davies)]

I thank everyone who works in our jobcentres. Our Secretary of State has committed to doubling the number of work coaches. We take an individual focus on our claimants, and we will take a place-based approach to helping people into work. We are actively working with our operations to ensure that this is done safely so that people can get back into work.