Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Work and Pensions

Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Amesbury Excerpts
Monday 19th November 2018

(5 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Mike Amesbury Portrait Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)
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I welcome the new Secretary of State to her post.

On 13 November, Mind wrote to me to outline its fears about how the approach of the then Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to the managed migration of universal credit created a real risk that many people with mental health problems could be left without an income altogether in the move to universal credit. Will the new Secretary of State take the opportunity to make a clear statement of independence from her predecessor, take note of the grave concerns of Mind, Macmillan and others, and withdraw these regulations immediately?

Justin Tomlinson Portrait Justin Tomlinson
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No, because these migrations will bring in very important additional supports, as each and every Member needs to bear in mind when the vote comes forward. We work closely with stakeholders, and I remind Opposition Members that under legacy benefits, more than 700,000 people, who include some of the most vulnerable claimants—the people who contact us as constituency MPs—are, on average, missing out on £285 a month because those legacy benefits are complex and not personalised. It is absolutely right that we do this, but in a controlled and sensible manner.