Stephen Timms: On a point that was raised by me, and by my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Vicky Foxcroft), what will happen to people who are too unwell to work but not disabled, and therefore not eligible for PIP? The Minister’s proposal seems to be that they will not get any help at all, but I cannot imagine that that is what he intends.
Stephen Timms: I am grateful for the chance to speak in the debate, to the Petitions Committee for having arranged it, and to the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Elliot Colburn) for opening it. He kindly referred to my Select Committee’s report on health assessments for benefits, which was published in April, and my speech will draw on what we said in that report. We also published the...
Stephen Timms: I will gladly give way to the former Minister.
Stephen Timms: The hon. Member is right: these are often difficult judgments, but I would like to know what discussions the Minister has had with Ministers in Scotland about how things have worked in practice there. I would also like to know what progress the Department has made on plans for 16 to 18-year-olds in work in the severe disability group. I take the point that there are often quite fine judgments...
Stephen Timms: My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and she has done a great deal of extremely valuable and important work on this subject, both on our Select Committee and in the Chamber. I do share her concerns and, as she knows, because it was substantially at her instigation, we are undertaking an inquiry specifically on the safeguarding of vulnerable claimants to look at these issues. I do share her...
Stephen Timms: Rents have risen very sharply over the past couple of years, but the support for people claiming means-tested benefits to pay their rent, determined by local housing allowance, has not changed at all since 2020—it has been completely frozen. I wrote to the Secretary of State about this over the summer. Is the Minister able to give the House any assurance that the forthcoming benefit...
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to engage with parents in its relationships, sex and health education public consultation review; and if she will make a statement.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to increase the weighting for disadvantage in the National Funding Formula for schools; and if she will make a statement.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the UK's progress on meeting its COP26 spending commitment on international climate finance by 2026.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of his Department's climate finance budget was (a) reallocated from the Official Development Assistance budget, (b) reallocated from other budgets held by his Department and (c) new spending in (i) 2021-22 and (ii) 2022-23.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK International Climate Finance Strategy, published on 30 March 2023, how much his Department spent on international climate finance in (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23; and how much he plans to spend in each financial year to 2025-26.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what proportion of his Department's spending on climate finance has been allocated to (a) mitigation and (b) adaptation in the (i) 2021-22 and (ii) 2022-23 financial years; and what proportion of his Department's planned spending on climate finance is expected to be spent on (A) mitigation and (B) adaptation in...
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the reasons for approximately a third of registrations for Universal Credit not leading to a claim being submitted in the year to February 2023; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the Lifetime Individual Savings Account first home property value limit in line with average house prices on the level of house purchases by first time buyers.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff in her Department worked on tackling fraud and error in the benefit system between (a) January–June 2020, (b) July–December 2020, (c) January–June 2021, (d) July–December 2021, (e) January–June 2022, (f) July–December 2022 and (g) January–June 2023.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Employment on 4 July 2023, Official Report, Col 734, how many extra staff have been hired to tackle fraud and error in the benefit system between (a) January–June 2020, (b) July–December 2020, (c) January–June 2021, (d) July–December 2021, (e) January–June 2022, (f)...
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of trends in poverty levels among people aged over 50 who have become economically inactive since the start of the pandemic; and if he will make a statement.
Stephen Timms: Defined-benefit pension funds have long been under pressure to invest in Government gilts rather than the productive economy, so I welcome the change of direction that the Minister has announced. He has indicated how much extra pension fund investment will go into high-growth companies in future. Will he indicate what share of that he expects to go into UK high-growth firms rather than...
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department took down the webpage entitled Register your presence in the Sudan with FCDO; and if he will put that webpage up again.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether there have been evacuation flights from the Sudan since 1 May; and how many (a) British and (b) other nationals have been evacuated from the Sudan to the UK since that date.