Speeches by Barron.

“Thanks for coming in. Two fairly short and succinct questions from me. The first one is: how satisfied were you with the Government’s response to recommendations to reclassify some overpayments as official error?”

“Thanks. Are there any unanswered questions that were not included in the terms of reference of the review, or explored in previous reviews or inquiries that you believe warrant further investigation?”

“Ruth, have you been able to deliver the outcomes that you have been expected to deliver? Have you managed changing demands for your services?”

“I could not agree more. In relation to the number of employers that have signed up, we used to champion a charter protecting workers who had a terminal illness, because they fall into the disability category once that diagnosis has been given. I also welcome the fact that you want to hear from the people this impacts o…”

“Turning to the Disability Confident scheme, we have heard concerns that the scheme lacks independent validation and meaningful accountability. How do you respond to those criticisms?”

“What is being done to ensure that there is an accurate picture of on-the-ground readiness for the roll-out of Connect to Work? You spoke about some of the areas.”

“Referrals to the Work and Health Programme ended prior to Connect to Work being in place, leading to a gap in service provision. The question basically is: why was the transition not better aligned?”

“I am conscious of time but want to focus on delivery against targets. How many people are you expected to help into work and how soon will you know if you are on track to meet that target?”

“I am conscious of time, so I will chuck my questions together to get some quickfire answers. First, the report sets out a seven-year timeline for implementation. How realistic do you think that is? Does the report have much support among the businesses you represent, and are any of them participating in the vanguard ph…”

“It is a pleasure to be part of this debate, Mr Stringer. I will begin by declaring my interest. I started at Royal Mail in 1986 on an apprenticeship. I have walked the rounds, sorted the frames and stood up for postal workers, prior to coming to Parliament, but I have never seen postal services in such a crisis as toda…”

“Back in 2004, I became a magistrate—a position that I held for 20 years. When I first walked into the magistrates’ retiring room, I thought everybody in there had retired, because I brought the average age down by about 30 years. That shows that the position is a commitment—people serve for years—and how hard it can be…”

“First, I want to take us back, because this debate is being pitched as if those who are not in work are getting something that is being paid for by those in work—that ain’t the case, and it is wrong to suggest it. I will tell the House what the problem is: the scar of in-work poverty that was left on our economy. I cam…”

“5. What steps his Department is taking to recruit magistrates.”

“No, I think we have heard that. I am just curious why the Action Plan has stopped. Anyway, I will move on. The Pension Credit now has the highest rate of fraud ever, with overpayments of 10.3%. We know from our pensioner poverty inquiry that the Pension Credit application is very long and detailed. Given all the inform…”

“I am going to pick up on Pension Credit. However, before I do, I want to go back to follow up on John’s point in relation to why the Department has put its Action Plan on hold as far as the WASPI women are concerned, because I do not see that making any sense at all. The Government have taken a decision or a reconsider…”

“Q12. For too long, many of my constituents have not had access to good, secure, well-paid jobs. We made a commitment in our manifesto that we would change that. We cannot grow an economy based on insecure work where, from one week to the next, somebody does not know how many hours they will work or how much money they …”

“Okay. I will just leave it on the comment that has been made. There is one way to resolve a dispute and it is about sitting around a table talking. I will suggest that the Department does that and tries to avoid the ballot, tries to avoid the strike and tries to avoid the dispute.”

“I will keep it brief but to justify low pay on the basis that you can give your workers vouchers? I think you should reflect on that, if I am honest. If we are happy and content as a Department that we can give working people vouchers to survive, I think that you should reflect on that.”

“Are there any ways that can improve even further?”

“And that is something that you will look to drive through.”