Speeches by Kendall.

“We did some fantastic work on additional work coach time. We looked for evidence of what happens when we free up our work coaches to focus on those with health conditions and disabilities. We found that, just by calling and asking whether they wanted to come in for a meeting, we got 3% more people into work. Now, 3% so…”

“Well, it is definitely a stretching target but—to state the obvious—I am not in politics to be coasting along, you know? We want that stretching target. We have said that it is a big ambition over a decade. I think our employment rate is just over 75%, but there are other countries, such as Switzerland and the Netherla…”

“This is a really important point, and I should have said this to Mr Kruger earlier as well. The part of the agenda about preventing people from falling out of work due to a health condition in the first place is as important as getting people back to work. I think around 300,000 people every year fall out of work due t…”

“Yes, it is—in fact, it is more now, with the additional £300 million that we announced during the passage of the Bill. It will now ramp up to £3.8 billion in total. We had already put investment into the system, but this is additional funding. We are going to bring some of that forward and ramp up support over the next…”

“Joining up work and health support is essential. I have been to visit some of the projects in place, and they are making a really big difference. We are building on that with additional investment, quadrupling what we inherited from the Conservative party. Joining up work and health support is very important, because g…”

“I will make a tiny bit of progress, and then I will give way. As I set out to the House yesterday, we have listened carefully to concerns that there would not be enough employment support in place quickly enough by the time the benefit changes come in. We are bringing forward an additional £300 million of employment su…”

“Let me make some progress. I do not believe that this is sustainable if we want a welfare state for generations to come that protects people who most need our help. There is nothing compassionate about leaving millions of people who could work without the help they need to build a better life. There is no route to equa…”

“I will make progress on this point. No existing PIP claimant will be affected by changes in the Bill. They will also be reassessed under the existing rules whenever they have an award review. From November 2026, new claimants will be assessed under the four-point criteria. The purpose of the Timms review is to look at …”

“I will give way to my hon. Friend.”

“Let me say a bit more, because many hon. Friends raised these issues, including yesterday. We believe that protecting existing claimants, while ensuring that new PIP awards are focused on those with higher needs, strikes the right and fair balance going forward. I want to address some of the questions raised yesterday …”

“I can absolutely reassure my hon. Friend about that. Many hon. Members have asked for precise details about how this process will work, and it is extremely important for us—we are beginning the process—to discuss this with disabled people, their organisations and other experts. It is not for me—[Interruption.] If the r…”

“My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. I will come on to say a little more about that in a moment. The review will be co-produced with disabled people, their organisations, clinicians, other experts and MPs, because we must ensure that we get this right. I have been a long-standing champion of co-production…”

“I will come on to this point in a moment, but the purpose of the PIP review is to have a wider look at the assessment. It has not been looked at for over a decade since it came in. I understand the sequencing point, and I will come to that in a moment. It is extremely important to have a very clear message that existin…”

“The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. Members have asked whether people with fluctuating conditions will meet the severe conditions criteria, which are for those with lifelong conditions that will never improve and mean they can never work. It is the case that, as someone’s condition progresses, if they cha…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right that those figures do not take into account the employment impact from the investment we are putting in. We have produced extremely clear evidence that good employment support works, including Work Choice—a Labour programme ended by the Tories—which meant that 40% more disabled people…”

“That is what they call chutzpah, seeing as Conservative Members put an extra 900,000 children into poverty. This Government are determined to tackle child poverty and will take 100,000 children out of poverty through our plans to extend free school meals to every household on universal credit—a downpayment on our child…”

“I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. This Bill and our wider welfare reforms seek to fix the broken benefits system that we inherited from the Conservatives and deliver a better life for millions of people across our country. Our plans are rooted in principles and values that I know many in this Hous…”

“I gently remind the right hon. Lady that her own party had different rules and different rates for people on existing benefits compared with those on new benefits. That is something the Conservatives did—once again Conservative Members seem to be railing at the very problems that they caused. I understand why many Memb…”

“Yes, I can. I believe that the unnecessary and unacceptable stress that that created was not right, and we will fix that with the reforms in the Bill, because people need to live in dignity and security.”

“Our Minister for Employment is indeed overhauling our jobcentres so that they provide personalised, tailored support for people to get into work, not some sort of endless tick-box process, and so that they are much more linked to the wider system in local areas: to the local NHS, to skills providers and, above all, to …”