Stephen interviewed by The Guardian about the English Test Scandal

On Monday, 12 February, Stephen talked to The Guardian about the still-unresolved English Test Scandal, when the Home Office revoked the visas of 35,000 overseas students based on allegations of cheating in the Home Office-approved English language test.

In 2014, the BBC revealed cheating in English language tests that overseas students are required to take to renew their visas. The Home Office responded by revoking the visas of 35,000 students, claiming that 97% of students who sat the tests between 2011 and 2014 had cheated. The decision resulted in 2,500 students being deported and around 7,200 leaving the country.

However, campaigners believe many students were wrongfully accused. The English Test Service initially offered no evidence against the students accused. Around 3,600 student had the allegation reversed after appealing to an immigration tribunal.

“The figure of 97% seemed absurd,” Stephen explained in the interview, “something had gone very badly wrong.”

Stephen has campaigned on the issue since 2015, when distressed constituents began raising their problems in his weekly surgery. Stephen told The Guardian of one student whose parents put their life savings into his studies. When he was accused of cheating, he could not bear the shame of going home.

“At the moment the Home Office is still in full denial, but once the truth is fully understood I find it difficult to see how applications for compensation can be avoided,” Stephen said.

Stephen calls on the Government to extend the Household Support Fund

Today, 31 January, Stephen led a debate in Parliament on the Household Support Fund (HSF), which has given councils over £2 billion to invest in crisis support. Stephen urged the Government to extend the Household Support Fund past March, when it is scheduled to end.

The HSF has invested over £2 billion in crisis support by councils since October 2021. Research by End Furniture Poverty shows that 62% of local crisis support by councils came from the HSF in 2022/23. It is due to end in March, and the Government has not committed to extending it

In Newham, the Council has used the Fund to give Holiday Food vouchers to 19,000 school children and Hardship payments to over 30,000 households to help them with rising rent and energy prices. Newham Council received over £13 million from the HSF since 2021.

Stephen led a debate in Parliament on the Household Support Fund today, 31 January. He urged the Government to extend the HSF and argued for a long-term plan to fund crisis support by local councils.

“Local welfare spending fell 87% from 2010/11 to 2019/20… that decline was only ended by the Household Support Fund,” Stephen said.

"Failing to extend the Fund now with no replacement for it would end vital support in the midst of a continuing crisis.”

Jo Churchill, the Minister of State for Employment, responded to the debate for the Government. She stated that “no decision has been made” and the Government is “keeping the Fund under review”.


Stephen asks for more aid to Syria

Stephen has written to the Foreign Secretary, David Cameron, asking that the government provide more help to those effected by the earthquake in Syria and Turkey last year. 

The earthquake last February claimed more than 6,000 lives in Syria and 50,000 in Turkey. Stephen’s letter to David Cameron noted that the United Nations had failed to implement a much-needed disaster relief plan for Syria. He also raised concerns that the World Food Programme stopped providing food assistance for Syria earlier this year.

Speaking about the letter, Stephen said “I am troubled that the UK government is not leading the way in providing aid to Syria. The Syrian people have faced unimaginable worries since the earthquakes last year. We cannot forget them. It is important that the UK – and other governments – work together to help re-build the country.”

Stephen signs the Holocaust Educational Trust Book of Commitment

On Tuesday 16 January, ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day, Stephen signed the Holocaust Educational Trust Book of Commitment to pledge his commitment to raising awareness and understanding of the Holocaust and remembering the millions of people murdered in it.

Holocaust Memorial Day is the international day of remembrance of the six million Jews, and millions of people from other communities, murdered in the Holocaust alongside more recent genocides Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. It takes place on 27 January to mark the day that Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, was liberated.

After signing the book, Stephen said, “Holocaust Memorial Day is an important opportunity to honour the memory of those who were murdered during the Holocaust. Remembrance is essential to learning from the past to create a safer future.”

Stephen celebrates Thai Pongal and Tamil Heritage Month

On Monday 15 January, Stephen hosted a celebration of Thai Pongal and Tamil Heritage Month organised by the British Tamil Forum in Parliament.

Thai Pongal is a Hindu harvest festival celebrated by the Tamil community. Thai is the tenth month of the Tamil calendar and usually falls between mid-January and mid-February. The period represents the beginning of the traditional harvest period, and Thai Pongal is celebrated to welcome the new yield.

The British Tamil Forum, which exists to represent the Tamil community within Britain, organises an annual celebration of Thai Pongal in Parliament supported by the All Parliamentary Group for Tamils. This year, Stephen hosted the event in the CPA room in Parliament, and he delivered a short speech to welcome guests.

Speaking after the event, Stephen said, “I was delighted to host such a joyous event. The Tamil community - with their long history and rich culture - enrich Britain, especially in my constituency of East Ham.”

"Backing assisted suicide isn’t left-wing. Blair and Corbyn alike opposed it"

If ever an issue deserves careful thought, and not simply a kneejerk response, it is the issue of assisted suicide.  It has returned to the news cycle in recent weeks, thanks to Esther Ranzen and is likely soon to return to Westminster.

The issue is an emotive one, but, notwithstanding the undoubtedly tragic cases we regularly hear used in its support, it is also a complex one that requires serious consideration of both sides of the argument.

Just as party leaders need to dispel myths on the campaign trail – “Labour can’t be trusted with the economy”, “all politicians are the same” – so various myths require dispelling when it comes to assisted suicide. One such myth is that support for such legislation is a left-wing idea in contrast to uncompassionate, reactionary Conservatives who wish to condemn those suffering to undignified deaths.

This myth can be readily dispelled both in practice and on principle.

Votes on assisted suicide have been unsuccessful

In practice, it is instructive to remember that there have been multiple attempts in living memory to introduce ‘assisted dying’, all of which have been unsuccessful.

Most recently in 2021, Conservative peer Lord Forsyth introduced an amendment to the Health and Care Bill that would have compelled the Government to draft an assisted suicide bill to lay before Parliament.

This has followed a number of other attempts in the Lords and two attempts in the Commons; both of which were heavily defeated, once under a Labour Government, at the height of New Labour’s popularity in 1997, and once under a Conservative Government in 2015.

The Assisted Dying Bill in 2015 was rejected by 330 votes to 118 and not simply because of Conservative numbers – 92 Labour MPs opposed the Bill while only 73 supported it. To put it differently, less than a decade ago, in a free vote, fewer than one-third of Labour MPs voted in favour of assisted suicide.

Nor can this be explained by the ascendancy of a particular wing within the party – attempts to legislate for assisted suicide have failed to command majority support in the parliamentary party under both New Labour and in the Corbyn-led era. Indeed, Jeremy Corbyn personally spoke passionately against any reduction in the current protections for vulnerable people.

Why we should show caution as the party of the vulnerable

When it comes to principle, there are good reasons for those of us on the left to exercise caution. If caution was justified in 1997 and 2015, we have more reason to be wary today since the introduction and subsequent rapid expansion of euthanasia in Canada in 2016, and its expansion in recent years in the Netherlands and Belgium to include minors and people with mental illness.

As the party of the vulnerable, the voiceless and the victim, the stories that have emerged from these countries ought to give us significant pause for thought – data shows that people with disabilities, the poor and those who fear being a burden to their relatives are all at risk when assisted suicide is permitted, while investing in high-quality palliative care, which is harder to access for the impoverished, can easily be marginalised when assisted suicide is allowed.

Parliament has considered – and rejected – assisted suicide in different guises on several occasions in recent years in both Houses. Indeed, over the last year, it has been engaged in a substantial year-long inquiry on the subject through the cross-party Health and Social Care Select Committee (HSCSC).

We shouldn’t pledge support or a free vote

As part of its inquiry, the Committee visited Oregon, often considered the gold standard for assisted suicide by campaigners who wish to distract attention from Canada but where patients have been permitted deaths for conditions including anorexia, arthritis, diabetes and hernias.

We await the Committee’s final report but the oral evidence sessions have suggested my colleagues on the Labour benches have been troubled by what they have learned from Oregon and elsewhere.

The latest attempt to promote assisted suicide came in a series of media comments by the Conservative MP, Kit Malthouse.

Perhaps it should not surprise us that the radical individualism of some Conservatives should lead them to favour radical autonomy in this area, even at the risk of dire societal outcomes for the vulnerable. But in my view that should not be the position of those of us on the left.

My advice to Labour prospective parliamentary candidates, and MPs, if asked their views on assisted suicide through the activity of well-funded, supportive campaign groups is simple: to pledge neither support for the practice nor for another free vote on a subject Parliament has looked at in depth only recently via the Select Committee.

Instead, a prudent response would be to pledge to explore and listen carefully to both sides of the argument and then to vote in whatever way will protect the most vulnerable, while supporting greater investment in palliative and social care.

This article was originally published on LabourList. It can be viewed here.

Stephen questions the Prime Minister about food bank use

Yesterday, Tuesday 19 December, Stephen questioned the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, about food bank use, support for low-income renters, and the Household Support Fund at the Liaison Committee.

The Liaison Committee aims to promote effective scrutiny of the Government and consists of the chairs of all other select committees in the House of Commons. The Committee usually interviews the Prime Minister three times a year. Stephen is on the Liaison Committee because he is the chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee.

Stephen focused his questions on rising food bank use - a recent Trussell Trust report shows that food bank use has increased by 16% since last year.

At his first Liaison Committee appearance, in December 2022, the Prime Minister had told Stephen that he hoped to see food bank use falling by the time of the election. Stephen asked the Prime Minister if he still thought that was likely.

“When you came to the Committee for the first time a year ago,” Stephen said, “you said that you hoped that, by the time of the election, food bank demand would be falling. Do you think that is likely to be the case?”

The Prime Minister responded that he is “generally confident that the policies [that the Government] are putting in place are making a difference to help the most vulnerable,” however he suggested that inflation over the last year had tempered his hopes of food bank use falling.

Stephen also pushed the Prime Minister on policies to support low-income renters and families facing deprivation. He urged the Prime Minister to uprate the Local Housing Allowance, which sets how much housing benefit a person can receive to help them pay rent, annually. It was frozen for the last five years. He also asked the Prime Minister to consider extending the Household Support Fund - a scheme that help Councils offer support to families in deprivation.

“People have had to dig into other benefit income in order to pay the rent, because the housing support has not increased,” Stephen explained, “I think there is a very strong case for keeping it uprated.”

Stephen meets with Carers UK and Smart Energy GB

On Wednesday 13 December, Stephen attended an event run by Carers UK to learn about the resources available to support people with unpaid caring responsibilities.

Unpaid carers are people who look after friends or family members who have a disability or need extra support as they age. There were five million unpaid carers in the England and Wales in the 2021 Census. In Newham, 21,556 people, or 6.5% of the population, are unpaid carers.

At the event on Wednesday, Carers UK shared several resources that can help unpaid carers. These included Carers UK’s website, which has a large repository of practical support, and their helpline, which is available on 0808 808 7777 from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday. Carers UK also offer “Care for a Cuppa” online meet-ups to connect unpaid carers, and they have created Jointly - an app designed to make caring easier and less stressful.

“I was delighted to meet with Carers UK and hear about the important work they are doing to support carers across the UK and in East Ham,” Stephen said after the event. “Carers are invaluable to our communities.”


Stephen challenges the Prime Minister about increases to visa income requirements

Update: Since this post was written the Government has u-turned. On 21 December, they announced that the minimum income threshold would only rise to £29,000 with no timeline for the increase to £38,700.

At Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Stephen asked the Prime Minister about the Government’s announcement that they are increasing minimum income requirements on visas to £38,700.

On 4 December, the Government announced plans to increase the income that people have to earn to get a UK visa to £38,700. The increase applies to family visas, meaning British citizens wanting to bring a foreign family member or partner would have to earn more than £38,700. The Government did not announce whether the change would apply to people already living in the UK renewing their visa.

Stephen challenged the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, about the change at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday 13 December. He urged the Prime Minister whether the increased requirements would apply to visa renewals and urged the Government to consider transitional arrangements to support people affected.

“The marriage plans of thousands of couples were dashed last week by the sudden announcement a big increase in the salary requirement for a spouse visa,” Stephen said. “Does [the Prime Minister’s] party’s support for the family now only apply to the highly paid?”

The Prime Minister accepted the need for transitional arrangements in response to Stephen’s questions, saying “it is also right to look at transitional arrangements to ensure that they are fair. The Home Office are actively looking at this and will set out further arrangements in due course.”

Stephen speaks about leasehold reform

Yesterday, Stephen spoke in the second reading of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill. Stephen was disappointed that the Bill fails to end leasehold, as the Government promised, but welcomed several regulatory changes that will, at least, improve leasehold.

Leasehold is a form of property ownership where the leaseholder owns the property but not the land it is on, which is owned by a freeholder. The leaseholder pays ground rent and service charges to the freeholder, despite owning their own home. Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities, described leasehold as “an outdated feudal system” in January.

The Government has introduced the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill to make it easier for leaseholders to buy the freehold on their property and strengthen leaseholders’ rights. Disappointingly, the Bill fails to end leasehold for good, as promised by the Government.

Stephen spoke in the second reading of the Bill. He criticised the Government for failing to end leasehold, while welcoming smaller reforms in the Bill.

Stephen raised the case of Barrier Point in East Ham, where leaseholders have found themselves paying between £6,000 and £12,000 extra in insurance premiums after flammable cladding was found in one of the building’s towers. He pointed out that a ban on insurance commissions and greater legal rights will help leaseholders in similar circumstances.

However, Stephen noted that the Bill does not address particular issues in the case of Barrier Point, such as the imbalance in liability between leaseholders who exercise their Right to Manage and their freeholder. He also urged the Government to make it easier for leaseholders in large multi-occupancy buildings, like Barrier Point, to purchase the freehold.

Lastly, Stephen suggested an amendment to the Bill on asbestos management. In apartment blocks, the landlord or freeholder often has regulated duties to manage asbestos in shared areas in the development. Leaseholder who buy their freehold can find themselves encumbered by unexpected and costly obligations. Stephen suggested requiring freeholders remove any asbestos before selling up to leaseholders.

“I am disappointed the Government are not abolishing the leasehold system like they promised and the Bill could certainly be improved,” Stephen said after the debate. “However, I am pleased the Government is, at least, strengthening the rights of leaseholders. It is a small step in the right direction.”

Stephen celebrates Westminster Eye Health Day

Yesterday in Parliament, Stephen joined the Eyes Have It Partnership to celebrate Westminster Eye Health Day. The day is an annual event to raise awareness of the importance of eye health.

The Eyes Have It Partnership is a group of charities, including the Royal National Institute for Blindness and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, that work to raise awareness of eye health in Parliament.

This year, the Eye Have It Partnership are calling for a national eye care plan in England to drive improvements in health outcomes. In East Ham, 37.3% of people were waiting over 12 weeks for specialist NHS eye care treatment as of July 2023.

“It was a pleasure to attend the Westminster Eye Health Day,” Stephen said. “Eye health matters a great deal. The Government needs to do more to get waiting lists down and increase access to specialist care.”

Stephen criticises Government plans to inspect bank accounts

Yesterday, Wednesday 29 November, Parliament debated the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill. Stephen spoke in the debate to criticise wide-ranging powers that Government amendments to the bill would give ministers to inspect the bank accounts of people on social security.

The Data Protection and Digital Information (DPDI) Bill aims to create a new regime for digital rights and data protection in the UK. Ahead of its third reading in Parliament, the Government proposed new amendments, including New Clause 34, that would grant ministers the power to inspect the bank accounts of people claiming benefits and the State Pension.

The Government argues that the powers to inspect social security claimants bank accounts are to reduce fraud and error. However, there are no clear safeguards to the powers and ministers only admitted that the powers would include people claiming the State Pension when questioned by Stephen in the House of Commons. The Minister also could not give an example of where those powers would be used.

“The proposal in the Bill is for surveillance where there is absolutely no suspicion at all, which is a substantial expansion of the state’s powers to intrude,” Stephen said.

“I think that all of us would agree, whatever party we are in, that the powers of the state should be limited to those absolutely necessary. The power in the new clause is definitely not absolutely necessary.”

Stephen speaks about the Autumn Statement

Yesterday in Parliament, Stephen spoke in the debate following the Autumn Statement. Stephen welcomed the Government’s decision to uprate benefits and rebase the local housing allowance rates, while criticising the Government’s wider benefit reforms.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, delivered his Autumn Statement, setting out the Government’s plans for taxation and spending, on Wednesday 22 November. Stephen responded to the Statement in the following debate, saying “after the misery of the past few years, we must all hope that [Labour’s plan] is put in place next year, finally, to reignite much needed growth in the UK economy.”

In October, it was reported that the Chancellor was considering not increasing working-age benefits in line with inflation. Research by the Resolution Foundation showed this would lead to 400,000 more children growing up in poverty. Stephen wrote to the Chancellor in October to urge him to reconsider and was delighted that the Chancellor had.

Stephen was also pleased that the Chancellor agreed to rebase local housing allowance rates (LHA), which Stephen had also written to him about. LHA caps the amount of housing benefit that low-income households can receive towards their rent. LHA has been frozen since 2020. Crisis, the homelessness charity, estimated that freezing LHA actually costed the Government £2 billion per year by driving up homelessness.

However, Stephen was critical of the Government’s wider reforms to benefits. He said that “3.8 million people were experiencing destitution in the UK last year” according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, while “food bank demand is 16% higher this year than it was last year” according to the Trussell Trust.

Stephen criticised the Government’s reforms to assessments for disability and health benefits. Consultation on changes to the Work Capability Assessment - which assesses whether someone who is disabled is able to work - have been “rushed and inadequate,” Stephen said.

Stephen further argued against increasing the harshness of the Government’s sanction regime. He noted the lack of evidence that sanctions help people back into work, and pointed out that he had received a letter with 70 signatures from single parent groups, children’s charities, and domestic abuse charities stating that new work requirements for carers with young children are simply excessive.

Stephen calls for more funding for schools in East Ham

Earlier today Stephen wrote to the Chancellor demanding that more money be made available to local schools in East Ham.

A number of constituents contacted Stephen in advance of the Autumn Statement later this week. They cited research published by SchoolCuts, which show that 92 per cent of mainstream school face real term cuts from April. The data suggests that nearly 18,500 schools across the country will be unable to cope with the cost increases in 2024/2025 without making cuts to education provision.

In July, schools had been told to expect a 2.7 per cent funding increase per pupil. This has now been revised down to 1.9 per cent. For primary schools this means £45 less per pupil, whilst for secondary schools it is £55 less per pupil. The situation in East Ham is particularly concerning with 37 out of 37 schools facing cuts to funding next year.

Speaking about the research, Stephen said: "I am deeply concerned by these figures. Its a desperate situation that every school in East Ham will face real term funding cuts next year.

“Ministers need to re-consider the funding model for schools and provide much needed investment to ensure pupils get the best education possible.”

Stephen's committee calls for reform of cost of living support

Yesterday, the Work and Pensions Select Committee, which Stephen chairs, released its report on cost of living support payments. The report found that the payments were not enough and only offered recipients a short-term reprieve from hardship.

The Government introduced a package of measures to support vulnerable people through the cost of living crisis in 2023. The package included payments to those in receipt of certain benefits to help them face rising costs.

Stephen’s committee commissioned a survey of 2,000 recipients of cost of living support. They found that payments had not reached all low-income households and were often too little. Additional payments to disabled people, for example, amounted to only £150 despite many people with disabilities facing soaring energy bills to use assistive technologies. Families with children were also offered the same flat rate as childless couples.

The Committee did praise the Government for the speed it delivered the cost of living payments at. The payments were automatic, removing a key barrier to access for many recipients. However, the Committee recommended increasing Universal Credit in future to avoid the complexities and flaws of adding a new system.

“While the support payments have made an important impact in helping those most in need during these difficult times, the overall package has offered just a short-term reprieve for many, while others have slipped through the safety net altogether,” Stephen said.

“It is vital that the Government listens to those with every day experience of support payments so it learns important lessons should a new package of support be required in the future.”

Stephen speaks in the King's Speech debate

Yesterday, Stephen spoke in the debate on the King’s Speech delivered on Tuesday 7 November. Stephen criticised the Government for failing to bring forward promised reforms on pensions, welfare, and worker’s rights. He also criticised Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, for calling homelessness a “lifestyle choice” and protests organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign “hate marches”.

The King’s Speech, delivered on Tuesday 7 November, set out the Government’s plans for the new Parliamentary session. Following the speech, there are ten days of debate on the Government’s plans. MPs debated the topic “breaking down barriers to opportunity” yesterday, Wednesday 8 October.

Stephen spoke in yesterday’s debate. He criticised the Government for omitting any mention of several promised bills from the King’s Speech, saying he was “struck by omissions from the King’s Speech.”

The King’s Speech did not include an Employment Bill to clarify the status of so-called gig economy workers, despite it being promised in a review six years ago, nor did it include a Pensions Bill to introduce reforms promised by the Chancellor in his Mansion House Speech in July.

Stephen also challenged divisive comments made by the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, about homeless people and pro-Palestine protests. Suella Braverman recently described homelessness as a "lifestyle choice” and called the protests “hate marches”.

“It is hard to understand how somebody holding such a crucial role in the government of this country can have no grasp of the harsh realities facing far too many people during the current crisis,” Stephen said of the Home Secretary’s comments on homelessness.

Challenging the Home Secretary’s comments about pro-Palestine marches, Stephen pointed out that the constituents he has spoken to “have no truck at all with the appalling massacre and hostage-taking by Hamas” and are “motivated by distress and compassion”. He concluded,“[The Home Secretary] has no right to impugn their motives so unfairly.”

Stephen challenges Suella Braverman's description of Palestine marches

On 30 October, Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, described pro-Palestine marches as “hate marches”. Stephen twice spoke in Parliament today to challenge her comments.

Since the start of the conflict in Gaza, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has held weekly marches to protest for an end to the war. Last week, the Home Secretary characterised these marches as “hate marches”. Her comments have been widely condemned, including by Conservative MPs.

Stephen spoke in Parliament twice today to challenge her comments.

During a statement on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Stephen asked Andrew Mitchell, the Minister of State for Africa and Development, if he would distance himself from Suella Braverman’s comments, saying “constituents I’ve been talking to are decent, law-abiding citizens with no truck at all with Hamas, but horrified by the scenes they are seeing.”

Andrew Mitchell replied that “we are all responsible for what we say, and [the Home Secretary] said it in the way she did.”

Later, Stephen spoke in a debate on the King’s Speech. He criticised the Home Secretary again and asked her to apologise for her comments. Stephen stated that constituents he has spoken to are “motivated by distress and compassion” and that “[The Home Secretary] has no right to impugn their motives so unfairly.”

Stephen discusses employment disparities with Action for Race Equality

On Thursday 2 November, Stephen chaired a discussion on bridging the employment gap for young Black, Asian, and mixed heritage people. Speakers at the event included the Shadow Minister for Employment Alison McGovern MP, the CEO of Action for Race Equality Jeremy Cooke OBE, and Tammy Fevrier, the Deputy Director for Youth and Skills at the Department for Work and Pensions.

Young Black men, aged between 16 and 24, are three times more likely to be unemployed than their white counterparts, regardless of qualifications. A 2022 Youth Futures Foundation survey found that over a third of ethnic minority young people had experienced discrimination when applying for a job while 55% of Black young people feel employers underestimate their abilities because of their race.

Action for Race Equality used the event to launch its Positive Action Guide for London’s Chief Executives, which gives them clear steps to improve young ethnic minority employment opportunities in their companies. They also revealed key policy asks, including asking the Government to set a national target to close the unemployment disparity between young Black men and their counterparts from other races.

“I am delighted to have chaired such an important conversation,” Stephen said after the event. “It is important that we close the unemployment gap between young people of Black, Asian and mixed heritage backgrounds and their white counterparts. Economic opportunity should be open to all.”

Stephen writes to the Chancellor about benefit uprating

Last week, Stephen wrote to Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, following reports that the Government is considering freezing working-age benefits. Stephen urged the Chancellor to uprate benefits in line with inflation, noting that benefits are already at historically low levels in real terms.

The basic rate of working-age benefits are usually increased (“uprated”) every April in line with the last September’s inflation rate. However, the Government is reportedly considering committing not to increase benefits next April.

Basic working-age benefits are already at historic lows. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that Universal Credit’s standard allowance is £66 per week too low for a couple to afford essentials like food, utilities, and toiletries. If the Government freezes benefits, the Resolution Foundation predicts that 400,000 more children will grow up in poverty as a working couple with two children would lose £1,241 per year in income.

As Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, Stephen wrote to the Chancellor to urge him not to freeze working-age benefits, saying that “all working-age benefits… should be uprated consistently in line with inflation”. Stephen also called for a rise in the Local Housing Allowance, which limits the support that households can receive toward their rent, noting that “freezing housing support has forced households to become homeless, imposing very large costs on local authorities.”

The Government responds to Stephen's Committee's inquiry into its Plan for Jobs

On 18 October, the Government published its response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s inquiry into its Plan for Jobs. The Committee, which Stephen chairs, concluded its inquiry into the Government’s Plan for Jobs and employment support in July.

The Government responded positively to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s recommendation to pilot a person-centered approach to employment support, but rejected most of the Committee’s other recommendations.

The Department for Work and Pensions provides employment support, mostly through Jobcentre Plus, to help people who are unemployed and economically inactive back into work. There are several different schemes that aim to help different groups, including the Youth Offer for those aged 18-24 and the Work and Health Programme for people with disabilities.

Stephen’s Committee investigated the effectiveness of the DWP’s employment support programmes in the first half of 2023. While the inquiry praised certain programmes, like Kickstart, the Committee made multiple recommendations for improving the Government’s approach. These included greater transparency, integrating mental health support into Youth Hubs more widely, and introducing new schemes to tackle ageism and support older workers.

“I welcome that the Government has accepted one of our key recommendations to trial a person-centred Jobs Plus approach to employment support,” Stephen remarked. “But it is disappointing that the Government has rejected many of our other suggestions.”

“Effective help for people struggling to find and stay in work benefits individuals, employers and the wider economy so we will continue to press the Government to ensure the help on offer is effective.”  

T: 020 7219 4000 | E: Email stephen here