Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Monday 13th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We now come to topicals.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mel Stride)]

Given that remembrance is still fresh in all our minds, I take the opportunity to pay tribute to the armed forces champions who work across our jobcentre network looking after armed forces personnel and their families. They do a fantastic job, and we should be very proud of them.

These are financially challenging times, but the DWP is up to that challenge, hence all the cost of living payments that we have been hearing about during questions. Inflation is coming down and real wages are beginning to move up. We continue to take a balanced and fair approach to encouraging employment, which has resulted in economic inactivity falling by about 300,000 since its peak, and almost three quarters of a million since 2010.

[Stephen Morgan]

The Trussell Trust has reported a 68% increase in the number of emergency food parcels provided to Portsmouth people in just one year. Does the Secretary of State agree that more and more people being pushed into poverty is not a lifestyle choice and that urgent Government action is required to tackle the cost of living crisis ahead of another difficult winter for constituents in my patch?

[Mel Stride]

I certainly agree with the hon. Gentleman that poverty is not a lifestyle choice. We have gone through various statistics during questions, with 1.7 million fewer people in absolute poverty since 2010, 200,000 fewer pensioners in poverty since 2010 and 400,000 fewer children in poverty since 2010. We have also gone through the cost of living payments, the increases to the national living wage and all the other support that the Government are providing.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Monday 19th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Tom Pursglove)]

The hon. Gentleman is right to raise the challenges that disabled people face with the cost of living, but it is important to recognise that many disabled people receive various aspects of the wider package of support. That is materially relevant in answering this question. We have had some good debates on this issue in recent weeks, and I refer him to those.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

T3. Pensioner poverty is on the rise, with an additional 200,000 people of pension age being pushed into poverty last year. What hope can the Minister give pensioners in Portsmouth that they will not have to choose between heating their home and eating this winter?

[Laura Trott]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman will note that pensioner poverty has gone down by 200,000 in absolute terms since 2010. I point him to the record state pension increase, the record rise in pension credit and the pensioner cost of living payments, as well as to the fact that Labour’s record on this issue was a decimation of private pensions and a 75p rise.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Monday 8th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

9. What assessment she has made of the potential effect of ending the universal credit uplift on the risk of poverty among benefit claimants.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (David Rutley)]

The Government have always been clear that the £20 uplift was a temporary measure to support households affected by the economic shock of covid-19. We believe that work is the best route out of poverty, which is why our comprehensive plan for jobs is supporting people to prepare for, get into and progress in work.

[Stephen Morgan]

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation finds that the Government’s universal credit cut will affect 21% of working-age families in my constituency and nearly half of those with children. To make matters worse, the Bank of England says that, after tax, which the Tories continue to raise, and inflation, salaries are now forecast to fall by 1.25% this year. What plans does the Minister have to support my constituents immediately, as they will be feeling that the pound in their pocket is worth less this winter?

[David Rutley]

The hon. Gentleman’s constituents will have the opportunity to fill the vacancies that are no doubt in his patch as well as across the country. I can also assure him that we do understand that there will be vulnerable families who need extra support this winter, which is why £1.8 million has been allocated to families in Portsmouth through the local authorities there.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

What recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of unemployment.

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

What recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of unemployment.

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

Unemployment was little changed over the second quarter, with the latest official Office for National Statistics figures showing unemployment at 1.3 million. This is due to the unprecedented package of support the Chancellor put in place, protecting millions of jobs through the coronavirus job retention scheme and the self-employment income support scheme. We do recognise there are difficult times ahead, but our ambitious £30 billion plan for jobs will support people during the next phase of our recovery, as we build back better and greener.

[Stephen Morgan]

Unemployment is soaring, uptake in benefits has skyrocketed and marginalised communities are bearing the brunt. Will the Minister urge the Chancellor to extend the job retention scheme to stop this vital safety net being snatched away from those struggling most in Portsmouth?

[Mims Davies]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising issues in Portsmouth, where we are actively trying to help people to get back into work and to have the hope the hon. Gentleman mentions. We are currently working with a pop-up business school in his constituency and, coming up, he may be interested to know that in his local jobcentre there is a new mentoring circle with Maritime UK Solent, which up to 20 young people will get a chance to be part of, seeing the different employer pathways that are available in Portsmouth. He will be interested to know that our work coach recruitment to help people back into work is open, and ends on Wednesday, for people locally to apply.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Monday 9th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Justin Tomlinson]

I thank the hon. Member who has been a long-standing campaigner in this very important area. We work with claimants, charities and stakeholders in all areas to improve the training and awareness that all our health professionals and frontline staff have, and this is a very important area of work.

[Mr Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

5. What recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of child poverty.

[The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Dr Thérèse Coffey)]

There are 743,000 fewer children in workless households compared with 2010. The evidence shows that work is the best route out of poverty, and a child living in a household where all adults work is about five times less likely to be in poverty than children in households where nobody works.

[Mr Morgan]

I thank the Secretary of State for that reply. The Child Poverty Action Group has published a study that detailed the lives of children who go hungry and the impact on their health, education and friendships. It showed that some were ashamed to invite friends home because they have no food to offer them. When will the Government give child poverty the priority that it needs?

[Dr Coffey]

I am conscious of CPAG’s report, which tends to use the relative “after housing costs” poverty measure. However, it is important to say this about the relative element; if we go back just over 10 years, we can see that just having a recession reduces relative poverty. We need to keep focused on what is really happening to families. That is why, if we use the absolute poverty measure, we will see that fewer people are in poverty than was the case 10 years ago. We will continue to work with parents to ensure that they try to earn the amount of money that they need so that they can continue support their children.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Monday 7th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mims Davies]

The Department is absolutely committed to making sure that we have the most compassionate and approachable opportunities for people to claim in every single constituency. I have met work coaches—from Scotland to Crawley to Walsall—who are dealing with this day to day, and the Help to Claim scheme backs that up.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

16. What recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of child poverty.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Will Quince)]

This Government take child poverty extremely seriously. The evidence shows that work is the best route out of poverty and that there are 730,000 fewer children in workless households compared with 2010, but there is more to do—one child in poverty is one too many—and this is a key priority for me and the Secretary of State. I will continue to work with colleagues from across the House, other Government Departments and stakeholders to identify and tackle the root causes of poverty.

[Stephen Morgan]

Children are not getting the nutrition that they need on the 170 days a year when they are not at school. Local authorities and devolved Governments are tackling this issue head on; why are this Government not doing so?

[Will Quince]

This is probably a question for the Department for Education, but we are supporting more than 1 million children with free school meals, investing up to £26 million in school breakfast clubs and providing approximately 2.3 million four to six-year-olds with a portion of fresh fruit or vegetables each day at school. Through the Healthy Start programme, hundreds of thousands of low-income families benefit from vouchers that can be redeemed against fruit, vegetables, milk and infant formula.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Monday 26th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

10. What assessment she has made of trends in the number of in-work households living in poverty.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

24. What assessment she has made of trends in the numbers of in-work households living in poverty.

--- Later in debate ---

[Kit Malthouse]

May I, too, salute the hon. Gentleman’s constituent? I did not know him, but he sounds like a remarkable man. I am sure he will be missed by those who loved and knew him.

The hon. Gentleman asked about the two-child limit. In our welfare reforms, we have tried to establish for those who require assistance through the welfare system the same choices that are made by those who do not have that kind of assistance. Having said that, we have ensured that nobody who currently has more than one child will suffer, and of course all children will continue to receive child benefit, irrespective of their status.

[Stephen Morgan]

As we have already heard, the majority of children living in poverty live in households in which at least one person works, so why does the Minister refuse to end the freeze on the majority of in-work social security support and to provide the support that working families so desperately need?

[Kit Malthouse]

We believe that the solution for working families is universal credit and that people should take control of their own lives and work hard so that they can build a life for themselves and their families. That is exactly what we are trying to achieve through our welfare reforms.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Monday 5th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Alok Sharma]

It is absolutely the case that under the Scottish system individuals will be at a cash-flow disadvantage after a number of weeks. I would point out that, of course, alternative payments are available in England, too.

[Stephen Morgan (Portsmouth South) (Lab)]

T4. Following last December’s High Court ruling, can the Secretary of State tell me by what date all 1.6 million PIP claims will have been reviewed: will it take weeks, months or even years?

[Ms McVey]

This reviewing will be an administrative process, so we will not need to see the people, but what is most important is that the right people get the right amount of money, and that will take the time it needs.