Welfare, Olympics and Fire Services

Making Welfare Fair

I have had several letters and emails recently from constituents concerned by the proposed changes to welfare reform and I want to take the opportunity to clarify the matter.

I have spoken to dozens of constituents who are frustrated and often furious that the previous Government cultivated a subculture of benefit dependency and a situation where oftentimes, it simply did not pay to work. We must not simply abandon an entire section of our society to benefit dependency: it isn’t fair on them and it isn’t fair on the taxpayer.

Whether it’s the failure to offer the right support for people who are desperate to go back into work or whether it is the endless complicated paperwork and the bizarre incentives of the benefits system, the current system simply isn’t working.

The Government recognises the need to change the system to ensure that work always pays and that no one is better off or stuck on benefits. This is why it has introduced the Welfare Reform Bill, which I believe will fundamentally reshape benefits; improve the incentives for people on benefits to work and make Housing Benefit more affordable and fairer to tax payers.

The new Universal Credit will see all the different and often confusing entitlements, such as Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, and Housing Benefit paid as a single lump sum.
Nearly one million people, including 350,000 children will be lifted out of poverty under the Universal Credit system.

We also need to be absolutely committed to getting people back into work or in the case of so many of our school leavers, into work for the first time. The Work Programme, which will be in place this summer, will provide personalised support for those with the greatest barriers to employment. Private and third sector providers will be paid on the basis of the additional benefit savings they secure, which will encourage them to get people into work and deliver net savings for the taxpayer.

We have a proud duty to protect the vulnerable and I want to be absolutely clear that the genuinely sick or disabled have absolutely nothing to fear from the changes to Disability Living Allowance.

The Government has introduced its Welfare Reform Bill, which will reform DLA and replace it with a new Personal Independence Payment. This is an opportunity to improve the support for disabled people and enable them to lead full, active and independent lives. This payment will be delivered in a fairer, more consistent and sustainable manner.

In short, we want to make sure that work pays and that those seeking work have the right kind of support. We must also support those who genuinely need help and make sure that they can access that help easily and quickly.


Getting Ready for 2012!
Yesterday I met with the All Party Parliamentary Group for London 2012 and had a really encouraging conversation with Jonathan Edwards, the triple jump Olympic Champion, and Jeremy Hunt, the Minister in charge of sport about the exciting opportunities that the Olympics are going to bring and the importance of sport in schools.
Sport is so important for young people to build teamwork and confidence and of course to try and curb the disturbing rise in childhood obesity. Locally, I know the proposed closure of the Calverton Leisure Centre was causing massive concern and I’m pleased that after lengthy campaigning and negotiating, this seems to have been put on hold for now.
Thought for Food
On Tuesday I was chairing a conference on food security, hosted by the Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum which discussed a number of issues close to my heart, specifically how we are planning to be produce 50% more food using 50% more energy and 30% more fresh water as former Chief Government Scientific Advisor Sir John Beddington has predicted we will have to.
It is refreshing to see that there is emerging cross party consensus on this subject at last with Labour now agreeing that there is a problem. This is not simply an issue of feeding the world in the long term: food prices are rising very noticeably in this country and families up and down the country need us to take action now.


Protecting our Fire Services
The tragic fire in Clifton this week has highlighted once again how important it is that our fire services are able to respond quickly to emergencies. I know that there are many concerned that as a result of reductions in call out, there are plans to cut pump numbers in the county from 36 to 30. While I’m of course pleased that calls to fires have gone down, we must ensure that the reduction in pumps does not affect response time to our area.

Firefighters and Retained Firefighters are concerned about the changes and I have met with crews from Edwinstowe and Arnold as well as groups of Firefighters and retained Firefighters in Westminster to discuss the matter.

I wrote to the Minister responsible for Fire Services to ask for a more sympathetic settlement for Nottinghamshire and I would like cuts to be directed towards efficiency savings and proper management of assets before hitting pump numbers. The Chief Fire Officer Frank Swann has said that he is happy to continue with public consultation before any changes are made.

Members of the public are able to take part in a Government consultation on funding allocation until April 8th at the following address: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/fire/fireandrescuecontrolservices.

As ever, if you would like to discuss this or any other matter with me, please do not hesitate to get in touch at mark.spencer.mp@parliament.uk or via my constituency on 0115 968 1186.