Speeches by Baxter.

“T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.”

“Yes?”

“Thank you for that. That is helpful. Going now to the Serious Case Panel, does it have full visibility and consider all serious cases that involve the DWP or is it only a select number of cases that are taken forward by the executive team? I guess is my question is whether there is a filter to them.”

“Are you still considering ways to share certain information from IPRs with family members of those affected?”

“Definitely. Just on the back of that then, obviously the Department has said that when a case is referred for an IPR but does not meet the necessary criteria, there is a process to encourage learning and raise awareness. Can you talk us through that process? These are cases that do not meet the criteria but there is st…”

“Thank you to the panel. Turning to the internal process reviews, I am conscious that the DWP introduced new criteria to determine if a case should be considered for an IPR in 2021. We have heard evidence or seen concerns regarding how cases are identified for an IPR. Daphne Hall, the vice chair of the National Associat…”

“Are there any circumstances in which a family member could request an IPR?”

“I thank the Minister for his statement and the strict new sustainability rules imposed on Drax, which will mean that we do not pay a penny for unsustainably sourced biomass. Can he give the House a bit more detail on the role of the independent adviser? Their work to hold Drax to account will be critical to ensuring th…”

“In the light of the growing threats facing our United Kingdom, it was genuinely shocking to read at the weekend that Conservative Defence Ministers spent taxpayers’ money sponsoring a race car. My constituents in Paisley and Renfrewshire South are livid about the waste of their taxpayers’ money. Can the Secretary of St…”

“Following the funding cuts in 2010, HSE introduced a setup known as fee for intervention, so that was about recovering the cost of regulatory activities from businesses that had breached health and safety laws. I think you referred to that earlier. How is that system working?”

“Audit Scotland recently exposed the incredible funding crisis facing our councils in Scotland, with a £759 million funding gap. It also reported that the 12 councils that make up the Strathclyde pension fund are reducing their employer contributions from 19.3% to 6.5%. Does the Prime Minister agree that instead of taki…”

“Thank you to the panellists. David has raised the issue about the number of inspections and inspectors, but Prospect released a report in 2023 that raised quite serious concerns about the impact of funding and pay restraint. I have heard you just acknowledge the balance between experienced and new members of staff is p…”

“Have you had recent discussions with Prospect about addressing the concerns within that report?”

“Do you still have the netting-off agreement with the Treasury?”

“I declare an interest as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on vulnerable groups to pandemics. More than 1.2 million clinically vulnerable people are still shielding from covid because their mRNA vaccine does not provide efficient protection for immunosuppressed people. Will my hon. Friend set out how the D…”

“T6. The pandemic exposed the woeful inadequacy of the previous Government’s statutory sick pay provisions, and I am pleased that this Government have committed to reforming those through the Employment Rights Bill. Will the Minister look at the specific wording of the Bill to ensure there are no unintended consequences…”

“How do you know that they are abroad, as opposed to a vulnerable claimant who is not able to engage?”

“Turning to benefit underpayments, I think we were all quite shocked at the extent of underpayments identified by the NAO. Those underpayment rates were highest for those with disability or incapacity benefits. What is your understanding of why people do not report a worsening of their health conditions, and what are yo…”

“Thank you. In December, you wrote to the Public Accounts Committee about pension credit processing, saying that you “expect to see throughput improve further through the next quarter”. Can you tell us how you are speeding up the process and what your target waiting time is for new claims to be processed?”

“The Committee recently heard about the complexity of pension credit claims preventing some people from applying. What is the Department doing to try to simplify the claims process—in particular through automation, for example—to try to help those who are entitled to take up assistance?”