Speeches by Smith.

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Clause, by leave, withdrawn. New Clause 7 Annual reporting of amounts recovered “(1) The Secretary of State must publish an annual report detailing the amount of money which has been recovered under the provisions of this Act. (2) A first report must be published no later than…”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. We have tabled the new clause to require the Secretary of State to publish the results of any pilot schemes run with banks to test the provisions of chapter 1 of part 2 of the Bill. We have already discussed how banks will be required to undertake ongoing monitoring…”

“I have heard everything that the Minister has said. However, we will still press new clauses 2 and 15 to a vote.”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. New clause 2 seeks to make it a specific offence to commit, assist or encourage others to commit fraud against a public authority. Someone who commits such an offence would be liable to imprisonment or a fine, or both. The offence of fraud against a public authority…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western. This is the first time that I have spoken to a new clause in Committee. New clause 1, tabled by the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion, would amend the Bill so that, where universal credit overpayments have been caused by official error, they can be recovere…”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“On Second Reading, I spoke about the role of supported lodgings, but I also spoke about the impact on well-meaning and responsible parents who, for a variety of reasons, choose to home-educate their children and who will be disproportionately impacted by the legislation. I realise that this issue is in part 2 of the Bi…”

“I will reserve my judgment, because I am not convinced that stripping out excessive profiteering will actually help the system. Ultimately, what we need is the provision of service. If people just leave the sector altogether, we will not have social workers anyway. I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman on that point, …”

“The clause makes provision to allow for a penalty to be issued, instead of prosecution, if an overpayment notice has been issued in relation to a non-benefit payment. This can occur only after the review period has passed and, if a review was sought, after a decision has been made and any subsequent appeals have conclu…”

“The clause makes it an offence for a person to fraudulently claim a non-benefit payment for themselves or another person by making false representations or providing false documentation. Generally, we support this provision. A non-benefit payment is a prescribed payment that is not a relevant social security benefit an…”

“Clause 94 states that any costs incurred by the Secretary of State in recovering an amount under clauses 71 to 80 or schedules 3ZA or 3ZB of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 may be recovered as though they were recoverable under the same methods as the debt itself. Will it be done separately, and what might …”

“My final question was about whether court appearances, regardless of whether that is with a solicitor or through DWP officers, will effectively slow down recovery proceedings. As a result, will there be some knock-on costs either for the person who the action has been taken against, if interest is being charged or anyt…”

“The clause requires the Secretary of State to issue a code of practice about the giving of notices to banks requiring the provision of information, the processing of information, the circumstances in which penalties may be issued to banks, and the circumstances in which the Secretary of State expects to exercise functi…”

“I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. As a former member of staff for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and as the chair of the all-party parliamentary group for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and commemoration, I welcome the Minister’s statement. Does sh…”

“As the Minister has just set out, clause 93 grants rights of audience and rights to conduct litigation in the magistrates court, county court and Crown court in England and Wales for, or in connection with, debt recovery proceedings to designated officers of the Secretary of State. That will allow DWP officials to be a…”

“The clause amends the Social Security Fraud Act so that if an administration penalty is accepted instead of prosecution, the individual does not lose their benefit provisions. From what the Minister said, it sounds like different scenarios are affected. I appreciate what the Minister said about the different situations…”

“Businesses across Wales, like those across my constituency of South West Devon, are being hit not only by Labour’s job tax but by the increasing minimum wage, rising costs and other business tax increases. Each of those alone would force many to reduce their workforce, but the combination of all three means that busine…”

“1. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the rise in employer national insurance contributions on employment in Wales.”

“I beg to move amendment 48, in schedule 5, page 101, line 17, leave out from “exceed” to the end of line 18 and insert— “(a) in a case to which sub-paragraph (3A) applies, the amounts credited to the account in the relevant period, or (b) in any other case, 20% of the amounts credited to the account in the relevant per…”

“The Minister will be aware that the last Conservative manifesto committed to reforming the Equality Act to protect single-sex spaces and services for women and girls, and in particular to listening to the voices of those women across the country. The Labour Government have indicated periodically that they agree with th…”