Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Joshua Reynolds Excerpts

Report stage & 3rd reading
Tuesday 29th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Western]

I very much agree with the right hon. Gentleman that more needs to be done; what we differ on is the need for specific legislation in that regard. Where we are falling down at present is in the scale of the activity we are undertaking. We could be doing significantly more at the moment, but as I said in response to the previous intervention, I have commissioned work to ensure that that happens. We already routinely contact social media companies to ask them to take down specific posts that could help people to commit fraud against the welfare system. I am very happy to consider practical points, but I am convinced that we have the legislative weaponry required to take the necessary action to deal with people who are encouraging others to commit fraud, both online and elsewhere.

Government amendments 23, 24, 39 and 40 bring into scope the kind of information necessary for fraud investigations and enable the PSFA and DWP to compel certain types of special procedure material, including banking records or records of employment, in line with the policy intent. Requesting this type of information is not new for DWP and occurs under its existing powers. The amendments ensure that the PSFA and DWP can compel this information to support fraud investigations, while also ensuring that important exemptions are in place, such as those for excluded material and journalistic material.

Government amendments 30 and 31 seek to address two separate issues in respect of clause 67. Government amendment 30 includes a provision in the Bill so that the powers granted to the PSFA under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984—or PACE—by clause 7 of the Bill are exempt from the application of clause 67(5). This will ensure that the clause does not interfere with existing PACE provisions in relation to legal professional privilege, enabling the Bill’s PACE measures to function as intended.

Government amendment 31 removes subsection (6) in clause 67, which currently overrides existing self-incrimination protections on the PSFA’s information-gathering powers and PACE powers. This allows the common law principle of the privilege against self-incrimination to apply in the usual way—under the information-gathering powers—and ensures that the proposed PACE powers align with established PACE practices. The amendments ensure that clause 67 provides essential safeguards for the PSFA powers in the Bill related to the processing of information.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

I am sure the Minister will accept that there is growing concern about issues of automated decision making, artificial intelligence and algorithms. While wanting to ensure that we get the best results, is the Minister able to commit to the transparency we need when it comes to AI and algorithms in relation to the Bill to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society are not unfairly hit?

[Andrew Western]

The hon. Member will be pleased to know that I can give him that assurance and that we comply with all the Government’s required standards around the publication of such information.

Government amendments 25 and 26 relate to clause 9, which amends the Police Reform Act 2002 to extend the Independent Office for Police Conduct director general’s functions to include oversight of public sector fraud investigators, enabling them to consider PSFA’s use of PACE powers and associated investigations. Clause 9 also enables the Minister for the Cabinet Office to issue regulations conferring functions on the director general in relation to these investigations. Section 105 of the Police Reform Act 2002 sets out requirements for such regulations made under that Act.

However, section 105 only applies to regulations made by a Secretary of State. As the Cabinet Office has no Secretary of State, this section would not include the regulations that the Minister for the Cabinet Office can make under clause 9. Government amendment 26 corrects that technicality so that section 105 also applies to that Minister. In addition, Government amendment 25 simply removes reference to part 2 of the Police Reform Act 2002 within clause 9(1), as the Bill will refer to the Act more widely, rather than just part 2.

Government amendments 48 and 72 provide a clear legislative framework for how the DWP and the PSFA will handle and transfer seized evidence to the most appropriate law enforcement agency, including the National Crime Agency and the Serious Fraud Office. The amendments will ensure that evidence is handled by the organisation best equipped to deal with the specific nature of the alleged crime, fostering inter-agency collaboration and reducing delays to investigations.

Winter Fuel Payment

Joshua Reynolds Excerpts

Wednesday 19th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Torsten Bell]

I will make some progress, because otherwise we will be here for several days.

I take this opportunity to thank each and every organisation that supported the pension credit take-up campaign, as well as the many friends, neighbours and family members who looked out for pensioners and helped them to claim. A few weeks ago, we released the first data on the impact that the campaign has had. We have seen 235,000 pension credit applications in the 30 weeks since July, which is an 81% increase on the comparable period in 2022-23. On the question about processing rates, with over 500 additional staff allocated directly for that, we have seen a similar rise in the number of claims processed. Most importantly, that has led to almost 50,000 extra awards compared with the same period last year.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

What would the Minister say to residents in Maidenhead who have told me that they are not eligible for pension credit? He talks about responsible choices, but the choice those residents now have to make is whether to dip into their savings to pay for their energy bills or to turn off their heating at night. A Labour voter contacted me who had had to make exactly that decision, and she said that she will never vote Labour again. Is that really the change that the Government were elected to introduce?

[Torsten Bell]

No, the change that we were elected to introduce was to save our NHS and to return our economy to growth so that we can raise living standards for pensioners and for workers right across the country. That is the change that we were elected to deliver and that is what we are going to do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Joshua Reynolds Excerpts

Monday 17th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

Conservative Members had no plan. Even their own former Chancellor admitted that the numbers were made up. The only thing they put forward were proposals on the work capability assessment, which have recently been ruled illegal by the courts. They had no plan, but they had a clear record: leaving people behind, writing them off and putting them on the scrapheap. This Labour Government will turn that around and get people, and our country, on the pathway to success.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

3. What assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of removing the two-child benefit cap.

[The Minister for Employment (Alison McGovern)]

The two-child benefit cap was introduced by the Conservative party 10 years ago. Its period in office saw child poverty rise to over 4 million and one in three of our children arriving at primary school not ready to learn. As soon as the Secretary of State and I were appointed, we got to work to establish our child poverty taskforce, as promised in Labour’s manifesto, and those efforts are ongoing.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds]

A BMJ study found that people in food poverty have diets with worse health outcomes including more fat, sugar and salt, so what conversations has the Minister had with the Health Secretary about how lifting the two-child benefit cap could improve diet and reduce costs for the NHS?

[Alison McGovern]

The Health Secretary and I talked about child poverty many times as we sat on the Opposition Benches watching the situation for our kids get worse and worse every year. The Member makes a very serious and important point about the wide-ranging consequences of poverty and, if I may, I would encourage him to submit the evidence he mentioned to the child poverty taskforce so that we can take full account of it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Joshua Reynolds Excerpts

Monday 3rd February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

Yes, I do commit to that, and I thank my hon. Friend for his tireless campaigning on the issue. With almost 1,000 young people unemployed in his constituency, or almost one in 10, I know what an important issue it is. His area is part of one of our youth guarantee trailblazers, meaning that every young person is earning or learning. I commit that the whole Government will continue to work with him and partners in his constituency to make sure that no young person is left behind.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

Jamie from my constituency is a full-time carer, but he is also in full-time education and is therefore not entitled to carer’s allowance. Will the Government confirm that they will extend carer’s allowance to those in full-time education?

[Sir Stephen Timms]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. I recently met a very impressive group of young people who have managed to navigate their way through education while also having very heavy caring responsibilities. We are working closely with the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Carers Trust and the Learning and Work Institute to make sure that we are providing the support young carers need.

Women’s State Pension Age Communication: PHSO Report

Joshua Reynolds Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

I know that a number of women expected to be able to retire earlier than they could, but the decision to increase the state pension age has been taken. It was taken by Parliament, agreed by subsequent Parliaments, and deemed legal by the courts in 2020—that issue is settled. This is about the communication of it. As I say, we have accepted the finding of maladministration, but we do not accept the approach to injustice or compensation for all the reasons that I have set out. The Government are taking difficult decisions so that we can invest in the pension triple lock and the NHS, build homes, and get people the jobs that they need—many 1950s-born women are very concerned about those things, not just for themselves but for their families. On this specific issue, I know that many people will be disappointed and angry, but we believe that it is the right and fair decision for all the reasons that I have set out.

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

WASPI women across the UK have been let down time and again, including by this statement. In the Budget, the Chancellor announced £20 billion of additional borrowing this year, and an average of £32 billion over the next five years. How does the Secretary of State expect WASPI women to believe that the Government cannot afford a single penny of compensation?

[Liz Kendall]

Given that sending out letters earlier, which we should have done, would not have made the difference that the ombudsman claims it would, and given that 90% of 1950s-born women knew that the state pension age was increasing, we do not believe that a compensation scheme costing up to £10.5 billion is a fair or proportionate use of taxpayers’ money.

Carer’s Allowance

Joshua Reynolds Excerpts

Wednesday 16th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead) (LD)]

Carers in my constituency have told me how they feel undervalued and invisible. They provide essential care to their loved ones, yet their contributions are rarely recognised.

There are carers such as Harry—a resident in my constituency who provides care for his son—who feels that the work he does is taken for granted. Harry cares for his son because he wants to be there when his son needs him, but he is not given the recognition he deserves. He receives £81.90 a week in carer’s allowance, but when Harry’s hours were extended at work by just 30 minutes a week to allow one of his colleagues to get to work on time after they had finished the school run—something that Harry was of course happy to agree to—he had no idea that, despite informing the DWP and being told that it was all okay, he would be accidentally overpaid carer’s allowance. Then the threat of fines and prosecution came from the DWP. To say that it added unnecessary stress to Harry’s life and his son’s life is a really large understatement.

The health and wellbeing of carers is a critical issue for us, and many carers experience physical and mental health issues due to the demands of their caring responsibilities. There are carers such as Margret in my constituency, who cares for her 25-year-old son with learning disabilities. With her caring responsibilities, she is no longer able to work. She found the balance between her paid job and her unpaid job too much to handle. Margret tells me how she rarely gets out of the House without her son. She has lost her network of friends and now feels isolated. Carers such as Margret struggle to access the respite care they need due to high costs and the lack of availability.

The Liberal Democrats believe that every carer should have access to regular and high-quality respite care, and we want to introduce a statutory guarantee of regular respite breaks for unpaid carers, because carers are the backbone of our society. They provide essential support to their loved ones, often at great personal cost, and the Liberal Democrats want to ensure that they receive the support they need when they need it.