Letter dated 11/07/2025 from Baroness Sherlock to all Peers regarding the introduction of the Universal Credit Bill. Incl. annexes: A: Clause by clause explainer and B: Further information on the wider reforms. 7p.

Letter dated 11/07/2025 from Baroness Sherlock to all Peers regarding the introduction of the Universal Credit Bill. Incl. annexes: A: Clause by clause explainer and B: Further information on the wider reforms. 7p.

Lords statement on the Government's welfare reforms.

Lords statement on the Government's welfare reforms.

My Lords, I apologise for the repetition, but for 32 years I dedicated my working life to helping people into work, not just by finding them jobs but by opening their eyes to the opportunity, purpose and dignity that meaningful employment brings. I do not rise today to lecture the...

My Lords, I apologise for the repetition, but for 32 years I dedicated my working life to helping people into work, not just by finding them jobs but by opening their eyes to the opportunity, purpose and dignity that meaningful employment brings. I do not rise today to lecture the...

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott, for introducing questions on the Statement. She quite rightly talks about missed opportunities of not only the current Government but the previous Government.

Welfare provision is a broken system. We should not proceed until we hear from the Timms review. I hope...

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott, for introducing questions on the Statement. She quite rightly talks about missed opportunities of not only the current Government but the previous Government.

Welfare provision is a broken system. We should not proceed until we hear from the Timms review. I hope...

My Lords, I thank both noble Lords for their contributions. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott, for the tone of

her contribution. She and I may sometimes disagree on analysis and solutions, but we both recognise the system is flawed and want to find ways of making it better,...

My Lords, I thank both noble Lords for their contributions. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott, for the tone of

her contribution. She and I may sometimes disagree on analysis and solutions, but we both recognise the system is flawed and want to find ways of making it better,...

My Lords, I have power of attorney for two adults, close relatives, who are in receipt of PIP. As a carer and a mother, I have had to deal with the DWP for most of my life and most of theirs.

I just say to the noble Baroness that I was...

My Lords, I have power of attorney for two adults, close relatives, who are in receipt of PIP. As a carer and a mother, I have had to deal with the DWP for most of my life and most of theirs.

I just say to the noble Baroness that I was...

I am very grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Browning. The House has benefited, as have I personally, many times, from her expertise and the care with which she expresses what she does. I commend her on what she has done personally and express my regret that the pressure on...

I am very grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Browning. The House has benefited, as have I personally, many times, from her expertise and the care with which she expresses what she does. I commend her on what she has done personally and express my regret that the pressure on...

I would like my noble friend to expand on why it is so important that we tackle the issue of ill and disabled people being disproportionately out of work, looking not only at universal credit and the broken system of access to work but at ingrained prejudice and broken mental...

I would like my noble friend to expand on why it is so important that we tackle the issue of ill and disabled people being disproportionately out of work, looking not only at universal credit and the broken system of access to work but at ingrained prejudice and broken mental...

I thank my noble friend, and I am really grateful to her for clarifying that. Those of us who spend a lot of time in the weeds of social security policy have to remember to be clear what we are talking about at different times. To be absolutely clear—I know...

I thank my noble friend, and I am really grateful to her for clarifying that. Those of us who spend a lot of time in the weeds of social security policy have to remember to be clear what we are talking about at different times. To be absolutely clear—I know...

My Lords, I declare my interest as a current non-executive director of NHS England. Will the Minister explain whether it the Government intend to return to face-to-face PIP claims, including a biannual review for the majority of claimants? If not, what are the reasons behind that? The Timms review continues,...

My Lords, I declare my interest as a current non-executive director of NHS England. Will the Minister explain whether it the Government intend to return to face-to-face PIP claims, including a biannual review for the majority of claimants? If not, what are the reasons behind that? The Timms review continues,...

My Lords, the noble Baroness raises a very important point about face-to-face assessments. There used to be face-to-face assessments; they were stopped during Covid and restarted only slowly and at quite a low level. We have said publicly that we want to ramp those back up again, so she raises...

My Lords, the noble Baroness raises a very important point about face-to-face assessments. There used to be face-to-face assessments; they were stopped during Covid and restarted only slowly and at quite a low level. We have said publicly that we want to ramp those back up again, so she raises...

My Lords, I will ask the Minister a very specific question about young people. The Statement says that almost 1 million young people are not in education, employment or training—they are NEETs. It then says that that is one in eight of all young people. That figure is true if...

My Lords, I will ask the Minister a very specific question about young people. The Statement says that almost 1 million young people are not in education, employment or training—they are NEETs. It then says that that is one in eight of all young people. That figure is true if...

I am grateful to the noble Lord, because that is a really important point. We should all be worried about the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training. What chance do you have in your adult life if you do not get anything at the...

I am grateful to the noble Lord, because that is a really important point. We should all be worried about the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training. What chance do you have in your adult life if you do not get anything at the...

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Thank you very much. I declare my interest as chief executive of Cerebral Palsy Scotland. I want to continue in the tone of my noble friend Lady Stedman-Scott and support the Minister on the importance of supporting people to work. She will know, because she confirmed in a Written Question...

Thank you very much. I declare my interest as chief executive of Cerebral Palsy Scotland. I want to continue in the tone of my noble friend Lady Stedman-Scott and support the Minister on the importance of supporting people to work. She will know, because she confirmed in a Written Question...

I am sure that the noble Baroness knows, given her connection to the sector, that we specifically consulted on the future of Access to Work in the Green Paper. We are now working our way through the responses, and will make decisions on that basis. The demand for Access to...

I am sure that the noble Baroness knows, given her connection to the sector, that we specifically consulted on the future of Access to Work in the Green Paper. We are now working our way through the responses, and will make decisions on that basis. The demand for Access to...

My Lords, I welcome the fact that common sense finally prevailed, so that the review of PIP will be undertaken before any decisions about eligibility. I hope that that will help to allay the anxieties expressed so powerfully by the noble Baroness, Lady Browning, and that we have all received...

My Lords, I welcome the fact that common sense finally prevailed, so that the review of PIP will be undertaken before any decisions about eligibility. I hope that that will help to allay the anxieties expressed so powerfully by the noble Baroness, Lady Browning, and that we have all received...

I thank my noble friend for appreciating the decisions that we have taken. In terms of co-production, the Secretary of State and my colleague, the Minister for Social Security and Disability, have been very clear that this review will be led by Minister Timms and co-produced with disabled people, their...

I thank my noble friend for appreciating the decisions that we have taken. In terms of co-production, the Secretary of State and my colleague, the Minister for Social Security and Disability, have been very clear that this review will be led by Minister Timms and co-produced with disabled people, their...

My Lords, I am very conscious, having run the DWP for three weeks—three years, rather; in some ways, it did go by in a flash—during Covid, of how challenging this was for the Government. The principles that the Minister set out are exactly the same ones that were there when...

My Lords, I am very conscious, having run the DWP for three weeks—three years, rather; in some ways, it did go by in a flash—during Covid, of how challenging this was for the Government. The principles that the Minister set out are exactly the same ones that were there when...