Emma Reynolds MP: speeches

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Speeches

12 Nov 2024 · Social Security Advisory Committee: Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source
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Yes, as I understand it that is in the Scottish Government’s gift.
12 Nov 2024 · Social Security Advisory Committee: Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source
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We have written to all pensioners to tell them about the change in Government policy to ensure that those who are not in receipt of pension credit or other benefits know that they will not be getting the winter fuel payment this winter.
12 Nov 2024 · Social Security Advisory Committee: Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source
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We welcome the letter from the chair of the Social Security Advisory Committee. We were hoping to respond to the letter on the day of the Budget. Regrettably, there has been an unexpected further delay, and we are due to issue the response this week. However, my officials met the committee in August to discuss the regulations, prior to the committee’s formal scrutiny in early September. I want to explain briefly why it is important to invoke the urgency procedure in this case. We needed to make the necessary Exchequer savings in the current financial year, as the regulations needed to come into force on 16 September. The previous Government left us with a £22 billion black hole, with Treasury reserves spent three times over. The day-to-day departmental spending set out by the previous Government in their spring Budget was not even close to reality. It is now up to us to clear up the mess of the previous Government, so we had to take some difficult decisions, such as means-testing the winter fuel payment, but we remain determined to do everything possible to support the poorest pensioners. We have taken immediate action to increase the take-up of pension credit, working with charities and local authorities and through a campaign in print and broadcast media. The Government have written to more than 12 million pensioners about the changes to means-testing the winter fuel payment. We have also written to 120,000 pensioners on housing benefit, who could be entitled to pension credit, to encourage them to claim. We have extended the household support fund until March 2026. Thanks to our steadfast commitment to the triple lock, more than 12 million pensioners will see their state pension rise by up to £470 next year, and up to £1,900 over the course of this Parliament. The warm home discount, which we heard about a minute ago, is worth £150 off energy bills for low-income households. The warm homes plan will in the longer term insulate 5 million more homes. By taking these difficult decisions, we were able to provide a cash injection of £22.6 billion to the NHS budget, which is the largest real-terms growth in day-to-day NHS spending—outside of covid—since 2010. That will bring down waiting times for people across the country, including many pensioners. We are taking the responsible and difficult decisions to clear up the mess of the previous Government, to fix the foundations of our economy and rebuild our public services.
12 Nov 2024 · Social Security Advisory Committee: Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source
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I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question. I am afraid that I cannot commit to extending the deadline. It is important that we encourage as many pensioners as possible—I know that he is working on that in his constituency, and I did a pension credit surgery in my constituency last week—to check whether they are eligible for pension credit. We have 160 local authorities up and down the country helping us to check the eligibility of those in need and those on the lowest incomes. That is the right thing to do. Those claims can be backdated by three months, and anyone who is eligible for pension credit in the qualifying week will also be passported to other benefits, such as the winter fuel payment.
12 Nov 2024 · Social Security Advisory Committee: Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source
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I quote one of the hon. Lady’s fellow politicians: “I have people in my constituency telling me that they don’t need the winter fuel payments that we give them because they can afford it.” Those are the words of the Leader of the Opposition, the right hon. Member for North West Essex (Mrs Badenoch).
12 Nov 2024 · Social Security Advisory Committee: Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source
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The hon. Lady’s question allows me to focus on the communications around this change. It is not just about pension credit, but about people on working tax credit, child tax credit and other benefits. The committee was concerned about pensioners in receipt of child tax credit; pensioners should check whether they are eligible for other qualifying benefits for winter fuel payments, because it is quite a complicated system. It is not just about whether someone is already on pension credit.
12 Nov 2024 · Social Security Advisory Committee: Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source
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I am proud of the last Labour Government’s record of lifting over a million pensioners out of poverty. We do expect to make savings of about £1.4 billion this year through means-testing the winter fuel payment. That is not an insignificant proportion of the £5.5 billion of savings that the Chancellor set out on 29 July.
12 Nov 2024 · Social Security Advisory Committee: Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source
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As I said, we have redeployed an additional 500 members of staff to process applications for pension credit and we are mostly hitting the target for processing times.
12 Nov 2024 · Social Security Advisory Committee: Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source
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We are deploying an additional 500 staff to deal with the substantial increase—over 150%—in claims. That is the right thing to do. It is an operational focus for the Department to get through those claims as quickly as possible, to make sure that we get the help to those most in need.
12 Nov 2024 · Social Security Advisory Committee: Winter Fuel Payment · Hansard source
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I would be very pleased if all pensioners who are eligible for pension credit applied and received the help that they deserve.
11 Nov 2024 · Pension Credit: Uptake · Hansard source
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In addition to merging housing benefit and pension credit, which will help some of the people whom the hon. Gentleman has in mind, the Secretary of State and I have asked the Department to look at what can be done to make the application form simpler. The Department will report back to us by the end of the month, and we will update the House in due course.
11 Nov 2024 · Pension Credit: Uptake · Hansard source
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We have launched the next phase of our pension credit campaign on radio, TV and print media, and the Government have written to 120,000 pensioners on housing benefit who may be eligible but are not currently claiming pension credit. After less than five months in government, we are bringing forward the merger of housing benefit and pension credit, which the Conservatives announced 13 years ago but failed to deliver.
11 Nov 2024 · Pension Credit: Uptake · Hansard source
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Yes, indeed. Assessing somebody for pension credit is a complex procedure, so we urge all those on low incomes to check whether they are eligible. We have seen an increase in the number of people applying online with the help of local authorities, Members of Parliament and charities, and we urge everybody who thinks that they might have an eligible family member to encourage their loved ones to apply.
11 Nov 2024 · Pension Credit: Uptake · Hansard source
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I associate myself with the hon. Gentleman’s comments and those of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State. I will look carefully at what the hon. Gentleman has suggested and get back to him.
11 Nov 2024 · Pension Credit: Uptake · Hansard source
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Yes, and no.
11 Nov 2024 · Pension Credit: Uptake · Hansard source
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I welcome the hon. Gentleman to his place. In answer to his questions, we have published an equality analysis, which he can find on the Government’s website. Owing to the legislation, we do not have to produce an impact assessment, but there is an equality analysis. I urge him to have a look at that. All I would say to him is that the new Leader of the Opposition argued in 2022 that winter fuel payments should be means-tested. I wonder how the hon. Gentleman might means-test the winter fuel payment, if he had the chance.
11 Nov 2024 · Pension Credit: Uptake · Hansard source
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We have seen a 152% increase in pension credit claims since late July, with over 74,000 pension credit claims up to mid-September. We know that many local authorities and, indeed, Members of this House—including me last Thursday—are helping pensioners on low incomes to ascertain whether they are due pension credit.
11 Nov 2024 · Pension Credit: Uptake · Hansard source
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I thank the hon. Lady for her question. We want people who are eligible to get support, and we have redeployed 500 staff to process those claims. I can assure her that that is something that we are focused on.
11 Nov 2024 · Pensions Review · Hansard source
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I thank my hon. Friend for raising that case. I would be very happy meet him, or any other hon. Member who has such cases in their constituency; however, the pensions review will look more at how current pension schemes can improve outcomes for future pensioners. We are looking at driving scale in consolidation of defined contribution pension schemes and local government pension schemes, and at a shift away from cost to value. I know that there is interest in that from across the House, and I hope that we can work on it across the parties.
11 Nov 2024 · Pensions Review · Hansard source
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I am leading the Government’s landmark pensions investment review, which aims to increase pensions investment in the UK economy and improve retirement outcomes for future pensioners. An interim report will be published soon. Phase 2 of the review, which will focus on pension adequacy, will be launched later this year.
11 Nov 2024 · Pension Credit: Uptake · Hansard source
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I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell): the deadline remains 21 December. Thanks to the Government’s steadfast commitment to the triple lock, more than 12 million pensioners will see their pension increase by more than 4% in April next years, up to £470. Over this Parliament, they will be better off by around £1,900, thanks to the triple lock. Low-income pensioners can also apply for the warm home discount scheme and, thanks to the extension of the household support fund, local authorities can target that support on low-income pensioners. In the longer term, the warm homes plan will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run.
11 Nov 2024 · Pension Credit: Uptake · Hansard source
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Estimates for pensioners who are eligible for but not receiving pension credit were published in early October. The estimates show that more than 800,000 pensioners—individual pensioners, not households—are entitled to pension credit but are not claiming it.
11 Nov 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment Eligibility: Impact · Hansard source
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I am glad to hear that the hon. Lady was able to help her constituent. We are looking at the form, as I mentioned in a previous answer, and we will update the House soon on those developments.
11 Nov 2024 · Winter Fuel Payment Eligibility: Impact · Hansard source
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The Government remain absolutely committed to supporting pensioners. We are urging pensioners to check their eligibility for pension credit to ensure that as many people as possible have access to the support to which they are entitled.
11 Nov 2024 · Topical Questions · Hansard source
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I would suggest a number of things: the warm home discount scheme is available for those on low incomes, including pensions; we have extended the household support fund that local authorities can and should use to help people on low incomes; and in the longer term, the warm homes plan will help to make homes across the country more energy efficient and cheaper to heat. I will also say that thanks to the Government’s commitment to the triple lock, pensioners will be about £1,900 better off over this Parliament.

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