Live webchat with Rachel Reeves, Labour shadow for work and pensions; THURSDAY 26 FEBRUARY 11.30-12.30

[RowanMumsnet]

We’re pleased to say that we’ll be welcoming Rachel Reeves MP to MNHQ for a webchat on Thursday February 26 at 11.30am.

Rachel is the MP for Leeds West, and Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; among other things her brief includes the ‘bedroom tax’ (also known as the ‘removal of the spare room subsidy’ or ‘under-occupancy penalty’), which she has said Labour will abolish.

Before becoming an MP, she worked as an economist for the Bank of England, the British Embassy in Washington and at Halifax Bank of Scotland. Her second child is due in June and there was some controversy earlier this week when she announced her intention to take maternity leave should Labour form the government after the General Election in May.

Please join us on Thursday at 11:30 if you can; as ever, if you can’t join us live, then leave your question on this thread in advance. (And please remember our webchat guidelines.)

Thanks
MNHQ

test

Agree with others questions.

Will your party STOP the disgusting rhetoric of the coalition of 'scroungers' V 'hard working families' and actually do things to help ALL people on any sort of benefit, which does not mean ordering sanctions with a view to fixing govt. figures ?

The demonisation of sections of society has got to stop.

I agree with SoccerFunDays about your imminent maternity leave, it is one thing to go on maternity leave from your job as a MP but quite something different to leave a vital job in a new formed government. Why should the taxpayer employ you when you are imminently about to leave the job and will not be fulfilling your duty to the taxpayer? Who will cover the role when you are away? Should that person not be given the role permanently instead?

How are you going to fund the abolition of the bedroom tax and other changes you plan to make? What tax rises are you planning?

Hi Rachel and welcome,

We have a question from one of our members over on Gransnet for you:

"I appreciate that there is a shortage of housing and families need more space than I do on my own. But equally I have lived in my council owned flat for over two decades and would like to be able to see out my days here in my home. I'm hardly rattling around - there are two bedrooms and although I now live alone, my grandchildren stay often. I cannot afford to pay any more in rent and am very resentful of the bedroom tax and would like to know exactly how Labour plan to deal with it if they get in in May. Thank you for your time."

What is Labour going to do to stop EU immigrants coming to the UK and taking benefits when they have not paid a penny of tax into the system?

Hi everyone,

Really great to be here at Mumsnet. Thanks to everyone who has already put questions in. I'm hoping to get through as many questions as possible in the next hour on Labour's welfare policy, maternity leave and anything else...

Rachel

@SoccerFunDays

Hello

So, your maternity leave thing this week... Much as probably most of us here fully support maternity leave and the principle of mothers doing top jobs, do you have some sympathy for those who say being an MP is a bit different in terms of taking leave? How will it work for your constituents? Who will be looking after their interests while you're on leave?

Do you think Parliament as a whole needs to have an overall policy for parental leave so that all MPs have the same rights and everyone knows what the score is? And probably for other sorts of leave as well - eg what happens if an MP needs compassionate leave or sick leave?

Thank you SoccerFunDays. I think the most remarkable thing this week is that some people seem to think it's remarkable that women can do a job and also have children. But overall I've had tonnes of support which has been encouraging! So I already have one daughter who is almost two, so she was born when I had been an MP for three years. I took five and a half months' maternity leave. I was in the Shadow Cabinet at the time and someone else covered my role as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. I came into Parliament a couple of times while I was off including to vote on a military intervention in Libya. The rest of the time I was 'paired', which means that whenever I wasn't there to vote, a Tory wouldn't be either. (That also happens when someone is off sick or on compassionate leave etc.)

You're right that the hardest bit is the constituency role. Every week I have visits, surgeries, campaigning etc in Leeds West, where I'm the MP. So after 6 weeks on mat leave, I started doing surgeries again. But other work was picked up councillors and by my office in Leeds, where I have an experienced caseworker and office manager who did a brilliant job in making sure that people's casework and other issues were picked up.

The job of an MP is difficult to deputise, I would definitely agree with that because people have voted for me to be their MP. But I honestly have never had a negative word from anyone in my constituency about having a baby. I actually think people were really pleased for me and my family and to see that you can do both. I hope this helps.

Hi Rachel.

I am going to ask the same question I asked Harriet Herman as it's important and relevant to a lot of people but it didn't get an answer.

Are Labour going to stop this war on the most vulnerable members of society?

I am on ESA and some DLA but I live in fear of being tested again and told I am fit for work when I am not. I suffer with ME/CFS and there is still a stigma around it where doctors don't always believe it.

I am sick of this war the Coalition is waging on disabled benefits when statistics show fraudulent benefit claims are actually very low. David Cameron may argue that more people are off benefits and back to work but many people just will not fight.

I did originally get put in the Work Related Assessment Group. I was only eligible to claim for 1 more year, then nothing! I wouldn't qualify for income related ESA as my husband works but his wages do not cover our outgoings, which are fairly meagre. Apparently "he earns too much" according to the government. I appealed and was lucky enough to get moved to the Support Group but this can be retested at any time and I have to go through the whole thing again. Private companies should NOT be in charge of testing peoples capability for work by ticking boxes.

I am very very interested to know Labour's policy on this, as a life long Labour supporter.

@YouCanDoTheCube

Hi Rachel

Can you tell us, as snappily as possible, how your (or Labour's) attitude towards welfare and benefits differs from that of the Coalition?

Because to be honest for the lefties among us it's becoming hard to tell the difference. Lord Freud for instance... didn't he write all of Labour's welfare policies when you were last in government? And now he does that for the Coalition. Do you think that's OK?

Hi YouCanDoTheCube,

The headline is that Labour will cancel the bedroom tax. That will be the first thing I will do if I am Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in May. We would also get rid of the targets for sanctioning people at Jobcentres and reform the disability benefits and make sure that they get paid to people on time.

But most of all, I think that the way to control social security spending is to tackle the reasons for the rising bill. So, 4.9 million people are now paid less than a living wage and 1.8 million are on zero hour contracts. Increasing the minimum wage and getting more people paid a living wage as well as banning zero hour contracts and controlling rent increases are the best ways both to ensure that people in work have a bit of dignity as well as to control the costs of welfare.

I hope this explains some of the differences but also my approach to the job.

Sorry Harriet Harman stupid auto correct.

My husband is part of the fire service. Do you support the fire service during their strikes and the changes to pensions and retirement age? Would labour being in power help the emergency services any more than conservative government?

I'd also be interested to know if you would take action regarding zero hour contracts.

You would ban zero hour contacts ?

Good to hear.

Will you also insist on a living wage, for the whole country ?

I am a mum of a disabled 10 year old I feel punished by this government. Carers allowance is not alot, there is no child care for older kids with disabilities what would a labour government do to help families like mine. Thanks

@MovingOnUpMovingOnOut

Hi Rachel, can you tell me what Labour plans to do to give women choices when they have a baby please? At the moment the announced plans to increase paternity leave still mean that biology is the primary driving force when making decisions about who cares for a baby in the first year of its life. Will Labour be extending shared leave to give every family a choice about who stays at home and who works in the first year after birth? The current proposals exclude many fathers/co-parents and this then limits choices for women by placing the burden on her.

I don't want much, just equality of opportunity and not to have to shoulder most of the burden above and beyond pregnancy when I have a baby! please :)

Hi MovingOnUpMoving OnOut, this is something close to my heart! We want both men and women involved in child's life - that's why we announced last month we'll double paid paternity leave to four weeks and increase paternity pay so that dads can get £260 a week - so that more can afford to take their entitlement. These four weeks can be taken at any time during the first year so that gives a bit more flexibility too. And we support current proposals to allow mothers and fathers to share leave of course as well. I sort of think policy and legislation is catching up with the lives and demands of many working families who as you say want great choice about who looks after the children and when.

@ihategeorgeosborne

Hi Rachel

Does your party have any plans to rectify the child benefit unfairness, where families on a joint income of 90k keep theirs, whereas families on a single income of 50k don't? I did ask this question to Harriet Harman, but she didn't respond. I would like you to tell me either way what your plans are on this policy.

Hi ihategeorgeosborne,

So do I!

So the current rules are that if one parent earns more than £50,000 a year you start to lose your child benefit. Once you are over £60k then you lose all of it. I know what you mean about the anomalies where you have two people just under the threshold still getting it while a single earner household with someone just over the threshold would lose it...

But the honest answer is we are not going to reinstate child benefit for the highest income families. Less than 10% of families have someone earning more than £50k and so it is not going to be a priority for us in Government when we have got so many other things - NHS, bedroom tax etc that we want to prioritise.

I hope this makes sense and seems fair.

@MrsVamos

Agree with others questions.

Will your party STOP the disgusting rhetoric of the coalition of 'scroungers' V 'hard working families' and actually do things to help ALL people on any sort of benefit, which does not mean ordering sanctions with a view to fixing govt. figures ?

The demonisation of sections of society has got to stop.

Just to say I would never use language such as 'scroungers' or 'shirkers'. People who are out of work, sick, disabled or retired are entitled to support from the welfare state. That's why the welfare state was created and I will make sure that it continues to do that. So on sanctions, we would get rid of the targets and the way people are treated in Jobcentres and in DWP call centres will be changed so that people are always respected and get the dignity they deserve.

Sorry, its hard on my ancient phone! But please, could you state policy (ie manifesto pledge) of labour's position on zero hours contracts.
I am of the opinion that they should be banned outright.

@TheFairyCaravan

I'm going to be in hospital on Thursday so won't be able to join in.

I would really like to know what Labour's plans are with regard to the change to the walking distance criteria to qualify for PIP. Under the rules for DLA it was 50m, now it is 20m which means that thousands of disabled people are going to lose their mobility component and as a result become housebound as they won't qualify for a Motability car, bus pass, or be able to afford taxis etc. Will Labour reverse this?

We know the Tories want genuine disabled people off benefits, but Labour have been very quiet on this one.

hi TheFairyCaravan, I understand the problems that the loss of mobility can have for disabled people's quality of life and for their employment. Our first priority will be to deal with the huge backlog of delays for Personal Independence Payments which are leaving disabled people waiting months for an assessment. Some people have waited more than a year and that is the first thing we need to fix. We'll also bring in a new Work Support programme to give disabled people much more support to find a job and give people access to the information that assessors use. But I can't promise today that Labour will be able to change the distance criteria for PIP.

@Rufus200

I agree with SoccerFunDays about your imminent maternity leave, it is one thing to go on maternity leave from your job as a MP but quite something different to leave a vital job in a new formed government. Why should the taxpayer employ you when you are imminently about to leave the job and will not be fulfilling your duty to the taxpayer? Who will cover the role when you are away? Should that person not be given the role permanently instead?

How are you going to fund the abolition of the bedroom tax and other changes you plan to make? What tax rises are you planning?

I'm not sure SoccerFunDays agrees with you! If Labour win the Election in May and I am appointed to the Cabinet, then I will work for a month before taking three months maternity leave. That's the way that maternity leave works and 300,000 women take it every year. As I said to SoccerFunDays, it's not dissimilar to when I took maternity leave two years ago or to when other Government ministers (Yvette Cooper, Ruth Kelly, Jo Swinson) have taken maternity leave whilst ministers. Someone will cover my role in Government for three months (although note this includes Parliamentary recess). I would look to return in September.

David Cameron, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair all had children while in Downing Street and continued being Prime Minister during that period. I don't see why it should be one rule for dads and another for mums.

Rachel

Thank you for replying. I do hope other Labour members feel the same way you appear to.

Hello Rachel,

In the plans for making changes relating to wages and benefits, does Labour have any plans or ideas related specifically to people trying to transition from benefits into more paid work? To clarify, at the moment people can be penalised - usually through a loss of benefits or significant decrease - for working more hours and/or earning more. It is right that the benefits diminish, but it seems to happen at a rate where people can end up worse off financially. When you have a family to support it becomes untenable in the short term to take the hit, even though in the long term it would be much better if you were working and supporting yourself financially without state support. How are people supposed to move into higher paid jobs or more hours if they have to suffer a significant drop in income for what could be years until their next increase or promotion?

But exactly WHEN will you ban zero hours contracts? How far into the next parliament? It's no use just before the next General Election.

@LucyGransnet

Hi Rachel and welcome,

We have a question from one of our members over on Gransnet for you:

"I appreciate that there is a shortage of housing and families need more space than I do on my own. But equally I have lived in my council owned flat for over two decades and would like to be able to see out my days here in my home. I'm hardly rattling around - there are two bedrooms and although I now live alone, my grandchildren stay often. I cannot afford to pay any more in rent and am very resentful of the bedroom tax and would like to know exactly how Labour plan to deal with it if they get in in May. Thank you for your time."

My grandma and granddad lived in a council flat when I was a child and my sister and I used to stay there during the school holidays. That was a big support to my mum and dad, and great for my sister and me. So I have great sympathy with what you are saying.

Labour will cancel the bedroom tax. It will be the first thing I do. 500,000 households are paying it today. Two thirds of them have someone in the house who is disabled and like you, many have lived in the property for a long period of time. It is a home, not just a flat or a house. So I hope that in a few months' time you won't be paying it any more and that will make things a bit easier for you and the thousands of others in your position.

Yy, Line.

I would hope it would be an instant thing.

I do hope this is not all empty words from which we see no action for 4 years !