The Sun

Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke has written an article for the Sun newspaper, in which he outlines the government's plans for Universal Credit.

He says:

You can read the rest of the article here, external.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Chair Frank Field presses the secretary of state on the length of time for Universal Credit claimants to receive their benefit payment.

David Gauke tells MPs that after 10 weeks 96% of new Universal Credit claimants have been paid in full.

Universal Credit claimants are supposed to be paid in full after six weeks.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Labour MP Neil Coyle describes the build up of rent arrears and the rise in evictions by housing associations as a result of the six week wait for Universal Credit.

Mr Coyle says there has been two evictions in his Southwark constituency and says it "misplaced" that advanced payments will address these issues.

Mr Gauke dismisses claims that Universal Credit is causing people in rent arrears to be evicted by housing associations.

"There has been one case out of eight people," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Universal Credit is a new benefit for working-age people - replacing six benefits and merging them into one payment.

It is designed to make claiming benefits simpler as a single payment is paid directly into claimants’ bank accounts.

Almost a quarter of all claimants have had to wait more than six weeks to receive their first payment in full because of errors and problems evidencing claims.

This has led to reports of growing numbers of people falling into rent arrears.

Labour is calling for the system to be paused amid these concerns, and this will be debated on the floor of the House of Commons this afternoon.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Conservative MP Heidi Allen asks about the six week wait for benefit claimants.

David Gauke tells the Tory MP, who is a campaigner opposed to the current system, that advance payments have always been available but "not always known about".

"I don't know anyone who waits six weeks to be paid," Allen retorts.

Almost a quarter of all Universal Credit claimants have had to wait more than six weeks to receive their first payment in full because of errors and problems evidencing claims.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Chair Frank Field welcomes the witnesses and gets the session underway.

Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke opens by saying it is important to "maintain confidence" and announces the phone number for claimants will change to a free phone number from next month.

It currently costs 55p a minute to phone the Universal Credit line.

He also announces that DWP phone lines will be free by the end of the year.

Select Committee
Parliament

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Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke is giving evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee on the troubled Universal Credit rollout.

He is joined by Neil Couling, Director of the programme at DWP.

The committee has accused the department of having "no idea" about how the system is operating.

Chair Frank Field has said people were being "pushed towards destitution" on a growing scale.

But ministers insist it is "safe to proceed" following "rigorous" testing.

It promises to be a lively session.

Welcome to today's events in Westminster - a day dominated by the issue of Universal Credit.

We're covering a Work and Pensions Committee on the subject first this morning - the committee is taking evidence on Universal Credit.

There'll be a debate on the subject later today in the Commons chamber.

House of Lords
Parliament

Peers are now taking part in a debate on nuclear research, but that's where we're leaving our coverage of the House of Lords for tonight.

The House returns from 3pm tomorrow.

House of Lords
Parliament

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Minister Lord Gardiner of Kimble says the government is "committed to leaving our environment in a better state than we found it".

He says that he'd be the "first to say that all of these matters are extremely complex, it would be daft" to suggest they are straightforward.

On returning powers over agriculture, an issue raised earlier by Plaid Cymru's Lord Wigley, he says it's "essential" that the UK government works closely with the devolved administrations in a way that "reflects" devolved settlements with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

House of Lords
Parliament

Labour frontbencher Baroness Jones of Whitchurch says that the government is "once again in crisis" over the direction that they might take from Brexit.

She says that given that Britain is only 61% self-sufficient in food it is "impossible to imagine" how we can continue to feed the nation without EU imports.

She says that "continued tariff-free access to the EU single market is vital" and asks for clarification that a "no deal" Brexit isn't seriously being considered.

Image source, HoL

House of Lords
Parliament

Crossbencher Lord Krebs, a former chair of the Food Standards Agency, says that a "no deal" Brexit could add 10% to the price of food, and even a Brexit with a deal that involves staying outside the single market could significantly raise prices.

He says that those most likely to suffer in this scenario are the poorest, many of whom already have problems putting food on the table. He says that "undernourishment is not just a third world problem".

House of Lords
Parliament

Conservative Lord Howard of Rising spends much of his speech criticising the anti-Brexit tone of the debate so far. On claims made earlier that Brexit would lead to labour shortages on farms he says that he's a farmer in East Anglia, and they've been bringing in foreign seasonal labour since "long before the European Union, and this will surely continue once we leave".

Meanwhile Plaid Cymru's Lord Wigley says he wants any powers that end up being transferred from Brussels to end up being devolved to the Welsh Assembly. He also asks for assurances that subsidies for farms continue at current Common Agricultural Policy levels for at least a decade, rather than until 2022 as currently promised by the government.

Image source, HoL

House of Lords
Parliament

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Labour's Lord Rooker tells the House that 40% of UK lamb goes to the EU, says if there was a Brexit that left the UK outside the single market, a tariff on meat exports would "devastate" sheep farming in the UK.

Lib Dem Baroness Miller says that leaving the EU will affect the pet and animal passports, affecting not just the horse racing industry, but also holidaymakers who want to take their pets away with them. They'll have a choice of leaving their pets in kennels, or having them taken into quarantine on their return, she says.

Crossbencher Lord Hope of Craighead says the future for Scottish farmers is "very uncertain". He says EU subsidies are "essential" to the survival of many farms.

House of Commons
Parliament

The Commons has adjourned and will return tomorrow at 11.30am for international development questions before Theresa May faces Jeremy Corbyn at prime minister's questions.

The home secretary promises arrangements will be in place with the EU to maintain security.

House of Commons
Parliament

Environment Minister George Eustice responds to the debate on the sale of puppies.

He says following consultation the government is going to bring in a stricter licensing regime based on the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

It will mean all those who sell pets will be required to adhere to minimum animal welfare standards, he expands.