Cost of Living Increases

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Tuesday 25th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

I wish we did not need this debate, but unfortunately, as all Opposition Members know, the cost of living crisis is biting harder than ever. As we have heard, under the Conservatives, food prices have risen at the highest rate for more than 45 years. I want to speak today about the implications of that for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions.

Depending on the nature of their disability, some people have difficulty preparing certain foods and rely on pre-prepared or convenience foods, which frequently works out more expensive than buying raw ingredients. The price of ready meals rose by almost 22% in 2022. If, for example, someone has difficulty standing or sitting for long enough to prepare a meal from scratch, they may feel that they have no choice but to pay those prices.

Rising food costs are also a huge source of concern for those on specialist medical diets. In a report published last month, Coeliac UK revealed that a gluten-free weekly shop can be up to 20% more expensive than a standard shop. For example, the cheapest loaves of gluten-free bread cost more than seven times the standard equivalent.

Even before the pandemic and the current cost of living crisis, disabled people faced extra costs of £583 per month on average—the so-called disability price tag. Scope is set to reveal an updated figure tomorrow, which I understand is substantially higher. I can confirm that the new statistics show that the extra cost of disability is equivalent to 63% of household income after housing costs. If, for example, a non-disabled household spends £100 per week on their food shop, an equivalent disabled household will need an additional £63. Again, even before the cost of living crisis, people with coeliac disease and those with other specialist diets faced higher prices when accessing essential foods.

When the price of everything has risen so substantially and there are fewer opportunities to shop around, it follows that those who are already at the sharp end will be hit hardest. I am sure that the Minister will agree that that is a shocking disparity. I hope to hear in his concluding remarks that he will pay close attention to Scope’s announcement tomorrow on the disability price tag, and lay out a clear plan to alleviate the financial pressure on the people hit hardest, first by covid and now by the cost of living crisis.

Non-domicile Tax Status

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Tuesday 31st January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

In a modern society it is ridiculous that we still have so many loopholes for people paying tax. If people live and work here and benefit from our public services and our society, they should contribute fully in their taxes. As colleagues have said, the Tory Government have failed to close the non-dom tax loophole and are instead choosing to raise taxes on working people.

However, I do not want to focus my time on restating the arguments already presented. Instead, I will speak about how the revenue created by the abolition of non-dom tax status would be used to benefit our young people—headline-banging stuff. As colleagues may recall, in 2016 I set up the cross-party Youth Violence Commission, and we spent the next four years examining the root causes of youth violence in our search for solutions. We held a series of evidence sessions in Parliament and worked with academics and practitioners to produce our full report in 2020. The early years of a child’s life can have significant long-lasting effects on their life course trajectory, affecting everything from physical and mental health to skills development.

Many of the witnesses emphasised to the commission the importance of the early years, and a point that came up time and again was the importance of early intervention. Witnesses spoke at length about the links between early childhood experiences and the likelihood of being involved in serious violence later in life. One of the report’s recommendations was for further investment in programmes that help to prepare parents for parenthood and provide support in the early years of parenting.

It might seem a modest start, but Labour’s pledge to deliver breakfast clubs in every primary school in England, alongside our promise to remove legal barriers to councils opening new childcare facilities, will be an important first step on the route to delivering a modern childcare system. Although our schools and other breakfast club providers try to keep their costs down, as the cost of living crisis continues to bite, too many families are struggling to afford childcare. That forces many to cut back on their hours or even to leave the labour market altogether. As well as enabling parents to work, breakfast clubs have been found to be good for children’s social development and to encourage healthier choices. I am sure that we have all been told at one time or another that just having a good breakfast helps with concentration.

Our young people are our future, and we should be investing in them, so I ask the Government to end non-dom status and offshoring, and prioritise the future of our young people.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Tuesday 20th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[John Glen]

I am sorry that I cannot give an early Christmas present. Allocations from that funding are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. I encourage my right hon. Friend to speak to the Health Secretary, who is working hard with the Treasury and other parts of Government to look at capital projects across the whole of health. Announcements will be made in due course, early in the new year, I hope.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

T5. Changes to the eligibility criteria for the warm home discount mean that those in receipt of disability living allowance, personal independence payment and attendance allowance can no longer claim it. I am sure the Minister will tell me that disabled people are being compensated via the two disability cost of living payments, but new research by YouGov has found that millions of disabled people are spending this winter living in cold and damp homes. What is he doing to ensure that no disabled person has to choose between eating and heating?

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (James Cartlidge)]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for that important point. Yes, I would draw attention to the cost of living support for those on disability benefits, which is extremely important, together with the energy price guarantee. On the specific point about the warm home discount, I am happy to look into that and write to the hon. Lady, but I remind her that in the autumn statement the Chancellor made a very significant commitment to energy efficiency which will apply to the whole country: the 15% target and £6 billion more funding for energy efficiency.

Economy Update

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Thursday 26th May 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

While I broadly agree with my right hon. Friend that that is the best way to help people over time, in a particular circumstance such as this, and given the types of people we are trying to help, I believe that direct cash transfers are the right way, rather than going through the tax system. I have talked to my right hon. Friend the Energy Secretary about the issue that my right hon. Friend raises. He is right to raise it, and I know that the Energy Secretary is focused on ensuring that the fuel duty cut is passed on.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Does the Chancellor now admit that he got it wrong in excluding disabled people from the warm home discount, which excluded 210,000 people who desperately needed help? Can I have confirmation that this announcement means that those 210,000 people are now eligible?

[Rishi Sunak]

The warm home discount is an existing scheme that covers only 3 million households. It is also funded by other billpayers. What we are doing today is setting out Exchequer-funded support to all those on means-tested benefits, so that anyone on those benefits will benefit from the £650. Additionally, those in receipt of any other disability benefits, which are non-means-tested, will receive £150.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Tuesday 15th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Lucy Frazer)]

It was very interesting to meet my hon. Friend, together with his colleagues from the all-party parliamentary group on investment fraud, and to hear his idea. As we discussed, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is very keen to make clear which schemes do not work. That is why, in the Finance Act 2022, the Government legislated to allow HMRC to name promoters and the schemes they promote at the earliest possible stage, to warn taxpayers of the risk of entering into those schemes, and to help those already involved to exit avoidance.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

T2. Research by Scope showed that one third of disabled households were already living in poverty last year. NatCen’s recent report on health and disability benefits, which was commissioned by the Government, further illustrates the devastating impact of insufficient financial support. What do Ministers have to say to disabled people who are already struggling and are now living in fear of worse to come?

[Rishi Sunak]

We are spending record amounts on supporting those who are disabled. Relative to the OECD, I think we are spending in excess of the average for other leading countries. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has a particular programme of support in place to help those who are disabled to move into employment; plans were announced earlier this year.

Downing Street Garden Event

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Tuesday 11th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Michael Ellis]

I will not disclose personal conversations, or otherwise. What I will say is that it is my—[Interruption.] I am answering the questions on behalf of the Government today and the reality is, the investigation will take its course and the hon. Lady will have answers then.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

My good friend and constituent, Will, whose father was ill with cancer, only saw him through a window for his 50th birthday, the day after the Downing Street party. Five weeks later his father sadly passed away, and only 15 were allowed at the funeral. What do the Minister and the Prime Minister have to say to Will and his family, because quite frankly they feel that there is one rule for them and another rule for everyone else?

[Michael Ellis]

I offer my condolences to the hon. Lady’s friend and constituent and her friend’s father for their loss. When I speak from this Dispatch Box, I do so as an individual who understands the loss that others have suffered. We all know that; everyone in this House knows that. We all are equal under the law in this country, and as a Law Officer I recognise that first and foremost. She will no doubt also recognise that in the interests of fairness, when the inquiry or investigation is under way it should be allowed to come to its natural conclusion.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Tuesday 9th March 2021 Commons Chamber

The Chancellor of the Exchequer was asked—

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

What assessment he has made of implications for his policies of the financial barriers to people’s compliance with the requirement to self-isolate during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

[Judith Cummins (Bradford South) (Lab)]

What assessment he has made of implications for his policies of the financial barriers to people’s compliance with the requirement to self-isolate during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Steve Barclay)]

People who are instructed to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace and are on a qualifying means-tested benefit, unable to work from home and losing income as a result may be entitled to a payment of £500 from their local authority.

[Vicky Foxcroft [V]]

We need people to self-isolate to control transmission and ease restrictions, yet many are continuing to work as they cannot survive on £95.85 statutory sick pay per week. The Chancellor has been asked about this on numerous occasions, and it was disappointing that nothing new was announced in his Budget. Does the Minister agree that those who do not have access to occupational sick pay and cannot work from home should be eligible for the Test and Trace support payments?

[Steve Barclay]

The hon. Lady is right that many people —indeed, the majority of workers—will have support from employers above statutory sick pay, but it is for the reason she outlines that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor also announced that there will be a payment of £500 for those not qualifying for the means-tested benefit, paid through the discretionary scheme that was funded at the Budget and to be administered by local authorities.

Spending Review 2020 and OBR Forecast

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Wednesday 25th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Rishi Sunak]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point, and the way he framed it was spot on. He will be reassured to know that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has written to IPSA on behalf of the Government, the Prime Minister and I to express our views on the situation, to inform it about the pay policy that we have put in place in the public sector and to urge it to take account of that when it sets pay policy. Of course, it is an independent body, but I hope very much that it will look at what we are doing.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab) [V]]

The Youth Violence Commission report, published earlier this year, highlighted the importance of high-quality youth services provision, yet in a recent written response to the report, the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, the hon. Member for Louth and Horncastle (Victoria Atkins), made no mention of the youth investment fund, and neither did the Chancellor today. Indeed, when the hon. Member for Southend West (Sir David Amess) asked about it, the Chancellor did not seem to know what he was on about. Does this mean that the promised and already delayed £500 million has been shelved?

[Rishi Sunak]

No, it has not been shelved, and I can he tell the hon. Lady that there is extra funding in this spending review for youth services. There is an amount of money for extra capital projects for youth clubs and, of course, funding for the National Citizen Service. More generally, the Government will review their approach to all youth services later this spring, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will set out the details in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Kemi Badenoch)]

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab) [V]]

[Jesse Norman]

Areas with Additional Public Health Restrictions: Economic Support

Vicky Foxcroft Excerpts

Tuesday 6th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Steve Barclay]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that it is important that we act in a targeted way both in terms of our economic measures and in our health response to the pandemic. It is about getting that balance right.

On the 10 pm curfew, it is worth reflecting on the fact that we are not alone in that. The Netherlands and parts of Spain, such as Madrid, have taken a similar approach, but it is all about getting the balance right and ensuring that we act in a targeted way, as my hon. Friend suggests.

[Vicky Foxcroft (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)]

Live music professionals in my constituency saw an average income drop of 97.5% during the initial lockdown. If further local restrictions come into force, the situation is likely to become even bleaker. Given that the sector employs 589,000 people nationally and that their skills are in demand worldwide, will the Chief Secretary extend the remit of the £1.57 billion arts support package to cover live music?

[Steve Barclay]

We keep all packages under review but, to address the very legitimate point that the hon. Lady raises about particular impacts within the economy, we have extended the self-employed income support scheme as one of the vehicles of assisting many of her constituents and those affected particularly in the arts. It is the case that certain sectors have been acutely hit and where we are not able to save every job in a sector, it is extremely important that we are able to get the support, the skills and the training package in place to people from such sectors in the wider economy.