Results 1-20 of 7,307 for (in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates') speaker:Jim Knight

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 25 — Contracting out functions under Jobseekers Act 1995 (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: As the hon. Gentleman will know from the way in which I have described the amendments, we have principally designed the provision around people with problem drug use. He is right that it could be used in respect of people with alcohol addiction problems. We plan to look at the arrangements for people on benefit who are dependent on alcohol. We have commissioned new research and will carry out...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 25 — Contracting out functions under Jobseekers Act 1995 (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: With the leave of the House, I shall respond as briefly as possible to the points made. I welcome the welcome from the hon. Member for Forest of Dean (Mr. Harper) for the amendments. He asked about the pilots. The English pilots will run for two years from October 2010 in five Jobcentre Plus districts: Cumbria and Lancashire, west Yorkshire, Merseyside, Birmingham and Solihull, and central...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 1 — Social security (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: With the leave of the House, I shall quickly respond to the debate. The hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) has just shown that we have genuine all-party support for the renaming of council tax benefit to council tax rebate, which I welcome. The hon. Member for Northavon (Steve Webb) asked about DLA. We will exempt lone parents from conditionality when the child is on any rate of the...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 1 — Social security (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: It is difficult for me to speak with absolute confidence in respect of what my right hon. Friend said, because I have not looked at the precise words, but he may have been referring to the reintroduction of the earnings link in the Pensions Act 2007. The 2.5 per cent. commitment is a non-statutory commitment, but it is of course carried forward in the amendment. The hon. Member for Northavon...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 25 — Contracting out functions under Jobseekers Act 1995 (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: I beg to move, That this House agrees with Lords amendment 28.

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 25 — Contracting out functions under Jobseekers Act 1995 (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: We estimate that around 350,000 heroin and crack cocaine users are on some form of benefit in this country. We need to help these people overcome their dependence, take control of their lives and get back into work. As the House knows, we are discussing the part of the Bill that is establishing pilots to ensure that problem drug users engage with the rehabilitation process where their drug...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 1 — Social security (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: I beg to move, That this House agrees with Lords amendment 1.

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 1 — Social security (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: Many of the amendments in this group are technical and consequential, and I shall therefore not linger on them. I anticipate that there will be most interest in the proposals on renaming council tax benefit as council tax rebate and on uprating, so I shall dwell on those at slightly more length. There are six amendments that end provision for pilot schemes that impose a benefit sanction on...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 1 — Social security (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: As hon. Members will be aware, next year's benefit rates will be announced at the pre-Budget report and in the subsequent uprating statement, and I am therefore unable to pre-empt those announcements this afternoon by legislating accordingly. These measures are, of course, a further demonstration of the Government's commitment to tackling pensioner poverty, which has resulted in almost 1...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 2 — Work-related activity: income support claimants and partners of claimants (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: If the hon. Gentleman agrees that work is the best route out of poverty, but does not like what he describes as "blackmail", does that mean that he does not agree with that approach for any jobseekers? Why does he agree with it for some customers of Jobcentre Plus, but not for others?

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 2 — Work-related activity: income support claimants and partners of claimants (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: We are not saying that we know what is best for the child; we are saying that the well-being of the child comes first. This should be at the convenience of the parent—if adequate child care is available, and while the child is in whatever child care, nursery setting or school that the parent thinks is appropriate. All we are saying is that work is the best route out of poverty. If we...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 2 — Work-related activity: income support claimants and partners of claimants (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: Will my hon. Friend give way?

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 2 — Work-related activity: income support claimants and partners of claimants (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: We have had an interesting debate, during which I was grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Stirling—

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 2 — Work-related activity: income support claimants and partners of claimants (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: By leave of the House, Mr. Deputy Speaker, may I say that I was grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Mrs. McGuire) for her sterling support? We started with an interesting speech from the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison). My right hon. Friend described the speech as opportunism. I agree. The Opposition are simply playing politics rather than being serious. I...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 2 — Work-related activity: income support claimants and partners of claimants (10 Nov 2009)

Jim Knight: Does the hon. Gentleman agree that work is the best route out of poverty? If he does, why can he not see that, given that the length of time spent out of the labour market determines how easy it is to get back into it, we should start to encourage people to overcome the obstacles so that they can get back into work?

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 2 — Work-related activity: income support claimants and partners of claimants (10 Nov 2009) has video

Jim Knight: The hon. Gentleman is right to say that I have set out a range of positive measures that we are putting in the Bill. He talks in terms of "sticks" and "carrots". As he knows, it is normal in social security legislation to put the sticks in primary legislation and leave the carrots in secondary legislation and in other action. What is unusual is that we are putting the carrots—to use his...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 2 — Work-related activity: income support claimants and partners of claimants (10 Nov 2009) has video

Jim Knight: Naturally, I listened carefully to my hon. Friend and I hope that she also listened carefully to what I set out. My starting point was the change that we made to the legislation in the Lords that ensures that the well-being of the child comes first. Any notion that children will suffer is dealt with through that amendment, which is now on the face of the Bill. In respect of financial...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 2 — Work-related activity: income support claimants and partners of claimants (10 Nov 2009) has video

Jim Knight: In many ways, that misses the point. We are talking about work-related activity, not work. There is no requirement for parents whose youngest children are under the age of seven to take up employment. We are talking about work-related activities and receiving support such as that which lone parents receive in the new deal for lone parents. I do not know what the hon. Gentleman's party's...

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 2 — Work-related activity: income support claimants and partners of claimants (10 Nov 2009) has video

Jim Knight: I challenge the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison), as he rises to intervene, to say that he will agree with us and be consistent with the approach of his party leader.

Welfare Reform Bill (Programme) (No. 2): Clause 2 — Work-related activity: income support claimants and partners of claimants (10 Nov 2009) has video

Jim Knight: It is worth the House noting that the Opposition believe that it is appropriate to have financial sanctions in respect of work-focused interviews for lone parents whose youngest children are from three to five years old. They agree that financial sanctions are appropriate in those circumstances, but in his question the hon. Gentleman wondered about work-related activity. If he believes in the...