n/a

Frank Field MP

November 4, 2019

No Government should accept consequences of two child limit, says Committee

The Government’s justifications for its policy to restrict support to two children are based on assumptions that “simply do not hold true” says the Work and Pensions Select Committee.
July 24, 2019

Universal Credit should come with a health warning, says Select Committee

So-called natural migration is trapping benefit claimants in the DWP 'lobster pot', struggling with a sudden drop in income and with no way back, says the Work and Pensions Committee.
January 30, 2019

Can a tour of foodbanks by two MPs serve any useful purpose?

I confess, when I first heard that Conservative MP Heidi Allen was undertaking a tour of foodbanks to understand the causes of poverty in the UK, I was very angry.
April 5, 2018

Post-Brexit failure to replace European Social Fund 'would be disastrous'

The Work and Pensions Committee says any gap in payments between the existing European Social Fund and a new fund would be disastrous.
February 9, 2018

Universal Credit assessment reveals 'biggest challenges still to come'

The Work and Pensions Committee says DWP has "produced no evidence to back up the key, central economic assumption of the biggest reform to our welfare system in 50 years."
November 23, 2017

Committees publish Bill to end exploitation in the gig economy

The draft Bill aims to close the loopholes that allow companies to use bogus 'self-employment' status as a route to cheap labour and tax avoidance, saying the law must not allow willingness to exploit workers to be a competitive advantage.
November 14, 2017

Universal Credit 'penalising self-employed'

The Chair of the Work and Pensions Committee say Universal Credit is 'riddled with design flaws' and is calling on Government to fix a flaw which can leave the self-employed far worse off than employees earning exactly the same annual pay.
November 8, 2017

Universal Credit appears to be 'driven by blind faith'

The Work and Pensions Select Committee has published two further letters to the DWP, pressing it on the lack of published data or a current business case for Universal Credit, its flagship welfare reform.
October 28, 2017

Universal Credit 'mangling poorer people's lives'
- Frank Field says evidence from Halton Housing Trust is "damning on the DWP maladministration which is mangling poorer people's lives".
October 26, 2017

Select Committee issues 'urgent and unanimous' report on Universal Credit wait

Work and Pensions Committee says 'no proper justification has been offered' for minimum six week wait linked to problem debt, foodbank use and rent arrears.