Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for further education colleges in the provision of training under the Work Programme; and what discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the role of further education colleges in the Work Programme.
Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to award additional prime contracts with new providers in the initial contract period of the Work programme.
Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what evidence he considered from previous contracts held by his Department when deciding the length of contracts under the Work programme; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what financial support he plans to make available for individuals who do not qualify for income-related employment and support allowance (ESA) after 12 months in the work-related activity group of contributory ESA.
Stephen Lloyd: I thank my hon. Friend for giving way; he has been very patient in allowing us all to intervene, which I appreciate. Does he agree that a measure that will help people to find homes is another change that the coalition Government are introducing, thereby moving to a default situation where it is easier for people in receipt of housing benefit to opt for it to be given directly to the landlord...
Stephen Lloyd: I agree that the issue of ageing patients is a fundamental challenge. Does my hon. Friend agree that domiciliary care, which is currently delivered through local authorities and primary care trusts, is a vital service that maintains many people's health for the longer term and often prevents unnecessary stays in hospital? Does he agree that appropriate steps should be taken by the Government...
Stephen Lloyd: I agree with much that my hon. Friend is saying about integration and the need to work with the community, and I applaud many of the changes made by the Bill. For years we have all talked of using pharmacists in a smarter way. Does not the Bill provide an opportunity for much more integration of community pharmacy with the consortia, and for the Government to support the consortia in that...
Stephen Lloyd: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Stephen Lloyd: I echo my colleagues in paying tribute to the hon. Member for Walthamstow (Stella Creasy) for pushing this issue and bringing the motion to the House for us to debate. It is incredibly important. When I first heard about the astronomical APRs charged by the payday loan firm, I was extremely concerned. When I discovered that the precise APRs charged were way beyond what I had feared or even...
Stephen Lloyd: The hon. Lady raises a good point, and an important one. There will be some anomalies, but when I did the research I found that the majority of people who use payday loans pay them back regularly, otherwise the business model would collapse. I hope to be able to explain that as I go through my remarks. The companies offer credit to those who are financially excluded by larger and seemingly...
Stephen Lloyd: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The figures I have show that the sector is worth in excess of £1 billion per annum, and heading towards £1.5 billion, so it is clearly very profitable. That is the point I want to make, if Members will bear with me. The blunt reality is that many disadvantaged people simply do not have access to high street banks, which we all take for granted, and...
Stephen Lloyd: On the basis of what the hon. Lady has said, which I support entirely, would she be interested to know that Brighton Housing Trust's Eastbourne advice centre deals with at least 800 specialist housing cases per year and anticipates that this will fall to about 100? Are we really expecting Jobcentre Plus to take up the slack?
Stephen Lloyd: Does my hon. Friend agree that the role of citizens advice bureaux is preventive and enabling? They focus not on generating unnecessary litigation, but on preventing crisis. Therefore, properly resourced citizens advice bureaux will actually save money.
Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that the NHS takes a systematic and safe approach to the prescribing of terminal care drugs.
Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he has taken to encourage public sector bodies to give priority to local businesses in their procurement policies.
Stephen Lloyd: Thank you, Mr Davies, for giving me the opportunity to speak in the debate. I welcome the Minister, and look forward to his response after we have all spoken. As an officer of the all-party groups on ageing and older people and on consumer affairs and trading standards, I feel that the issue of unscrupulous builders is of the utmost importance and warrants the thorough consideration it will...
Stephen Lloyd: I thank my hon. Friend for his extremely well-made intervention. I have heard about such cases again and again both in my constituency and as an officer of the all-party group for consumer affairs and trading standards. We are in a ludicrous position where criminals are ripping off people, often elderly people, up and down the country. However, because they are clever at using-or abusing-the...
Stephen Lloyd: That is a good point. It is not the conclusion that I have reached, but it is a strong point. The challenge with local government oversight is that it varies a lot around the country. Some local authorities would make it a high priority, while others would not. It is an option, but the conclusion I have drawn is that the Government must start taking steps to look at a licensing proposal. I am...
Stephen Lloyd: I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. That is a good idea as long as it is managed properly. My concern is that it might end up a bit like TrustMark. Many people do not know about that scheme and even among those who do know about it, there is some concern that it is not robustly policed. I like the idea, but we have come to the point when we need to introduce licensing. I will explain...
Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received on his Department's review of the work capability assessment published in March 2010 from (a) the Social Security Advisory Committee, (b) charities and (c) other organisations; what the content was of such representations; what plans he has to implement the findings of the review; and what the...