Speeches by Baxter.

“You mentioned the quality of the conversation and the outcomes for people. You might be aware that the Work and Pensions Select Committee has this morning released a report on safeguarding vulnerable claimants. Do you have any initial reactions to that report in the context of delivering the best that we can for claima…”

“I appreciate that. There is a summary at the beginning.”

“I want to talk about paragraphs 3.8 and 3.9 in the Report, which look at the into-work rates. Paragraph 3.8 outlines that the proportion of universal credit claimants who move into work each month has declined since 2021-22. How concerned are you about that? What are the main reasons for the drop in the into-work rate?”

“I understand that there are multiple issues that feed into that rate. You mentioned seasonal fluctuations. I understand what you mean by that, but the decline over a couple of years is not just seasonal. I am just wondering which of those factors might be most prevalent in driving the rate that we are seeing.”

“Given the increase in the number of complex cases, particularly those with mental health conditions, how does that square with the reduction in the amount of time you spend working with individuals?”

“Just finally in this section, is there anything more that jobcentres can do in the short term to increase the proportion of people moving into work? I appreciate that some of the issues that you have spoken about are longer-term, but what can you do to address the intowork rate?”

“Turning to the reforms to employment support, what impact will the White Paper reforms have on the number of work coaches that you need and on work coach caseload? I ask this in the context of your answer earlier about planning your resource around spending reviews. Of course, we have one coming up. I am assuming that …”

“I was going to press you on that next.”

“I understand it is a complex picture and you are not going to be providing exactly the same service in exactly the same way as work coaches do at the moment or previously. Given the upcoming spending review, do you think you need more resource? If that is the case, how will you monitor and manage the impact on the case…”

“How realistic is the vision for a universal service with which all people can engage, given the current shortage of work coaches?”

“I just want to pay tribute to the work coaches in Paisley who are going out into health centres in my area.”

“We have touched on the new jobs and careers service a little bit throughout the session. What is the timetable for setting that up?”

“How are you going to measure the success of the service? Bearing in mind that it will not be fully operational until phase 4 in 2028-29, I understand and appreciate that you are going to be testing things as you go through. Once we have it, how will you measure the success of the service?”

“Yes, I was going to come on to that.”

“Looking at it from a claimant point of view, there is something there about how we measure the sustainability and the quality of employment that people then move into. Is there a view in the Department about how you would measure that? Is it the amount of time people then spend in that role that they then secure throug…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his statement. Will he commit to investigating whether further sanctions are required on regional, federal, military and legal enforcement agencies that have been involved in and made possible the continued mass abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia? At the very least, wil…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her statement, and it is a pleasure to serve under her chairship on the Select Committee. This report is sobering reading, and the evidence we took was often heartbreaking. Does she agree that, over and above the report’s specific procedural recommendations, the overarching theme from everyth…”

“Will the hon. Gentleman confirm that under subsection (4)(c), the reference to cats that have been mutilated includes cats that have been declawed?”

“The hon. Gentleman talks eloquently about the plight of puppies being transported into the United Kingdom. As chair of the all-party parliamentary group on cats, and the proud owner of two cats, Clement Catlee and Mo Meowlam, I can also attest to the positive benefits that they bring to mental health. On the transport …”

“My constituents write to me on an almost daily basis, horrified by the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding before our very eyes. The denial of aid to innocent Palestinians is not only intolerable, but unconscionable. My hon. Friend was right earlier when he talked about deeds, not words, so what does further pressure on…”