Speeches by Darling.

“I do not want to stray too much into Access to Work because I know a colleague is picking that up, but I want to explore with you reasonable adjustments and Access to Work. I know that there are fears from those who campaign and work in this sector that there are moves afoot to shift some of what would have been picked…”

“That is really helpful. Thank you.”

“For Torbay council, on which I still serve, incredible assumptions are being made about the levels of council tax being collected. That results in a deficit of £13 million in years 2 and 3 for a small unitary authority. Does my hon. Friend agree that the Labour party has been learning from the Conservatives, and is pla…”

“That is useful, yes.”

“Do you reflect on how things could be a little more streamlined in delivery and so forth, allowing a bit more flexibility?”

“I think that is the positive thing that you have just alluded to. If lessons are being learned and as it rolls out further there are opportunities to try to streamline and those opportunities have been taken, one can only welcome that. The funding is quite limited. I think it goes up to 2029. In the greater scheme of t…”

“I welcome the proposals on child benefit and guardian’s allowance. When I visit schools in Torbay, it is disturbing to hear how many children are only too alive to the cost of living crisis. They are worried about mum or dad not having enough money to put petrol in the car, and they are concerned about covering the bil…”

“If people in Torbay check the Surfers Against Sewage app today as I did, they will see that eight sites are monitored where there could be overflows of sewage. Six overflows have occurred so far this year at six of those sites, with two ongoing. We have also suffered a cryptosporidium outbreak in the past 18 months. Do…”

“It is always a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Oldham East and Saddleworth (Debbie Abrahams). It is almost as if she has been cribbing off my speech—maybe it is because we are both on the Work and Pensions Committee. The reality is that our welfare state is part of a society that should be at ease with itself. L…”

“It is jaw-dropping how many rich and powerful people were within Epstein’s orbit, and how many of them believed that they were untouchable. It is important that we have a culture that is supportive and trusting around whistleblowers, so does the Minister agree that we need to have an office for whistleblowers as the ba…”

“James and Tom, any reflections on what you would want to see enhanced?”

“Thank you so much for giving up your time today to come to speak to us. Building on the workplace health provision, where do we get to in seven years’ time, particularly focusing on small businesses? It is the “So what?” question. Where will we be? What do results look like?”

“That is helpful. Thank you all for your evidence today.”

“I want to pick up on WHP. The report talks about how this provision could assist with navigating Access to Work. Do you have any reflections on any reform that would be helpful around Access to Work to make it more enabling than it is at the moment?”

“I am aware of time, but can you be a bit more specific?”

“Any further reflections? If Stephen Timms was Father Christmas and you were writing to him about the improvements you would want for Access to Work, what would they be?”

“This is a question for both Scope and Mind. In November, the Government said that they were consulting with disabled groups on changes to Access to Work. Have either of your organisations, to your knowledge, been engaged with that at all?”

“James, you were just going on to some of the changes, particularly talking about changes in levels of support for people with support workers, strangely enough. Can either of you put any flesh on the bones of that? The Government have said that there have been no changes in the guidance and that they are just applying …”

“Chris and Ian, do you have any reflections on the areas we have just covered?”

“My first little question is to Ian and Chris. What awareness of Access to Work do you think there is among the businesses that you engage with? How many of them use it or are even aware of it? More broadly, I would say that it is potentially a really useful scheme. With my disability, I have personally benefited from i…”