Latest news with #GregoryStafford
Business Mayor
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Mayor
MPs fear 'repeat of WASPI scandal' as many state pensioners don't know key rule
MPs have raised concerns that there could be a repeat of the WASPI scandal as many people do not know about an important restriction on the state pension increase. The WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) dispute revolves around the increase in the state pension age from 60 to 65 and then 66 for women born in the 1950s. The campaigners claim they were not properly informed of the change by the DWP, with many unaware they would have to wait several more years to claim their state pension, ruining their retirement plans. They are currently continuing their fight for compensation, despite the Government saying at the end of last year that there would be no payouts. WASPI has applied to the high court for a judicial review of the Government's decision. Now MPs have raised concerns that many state pensioners are unaware of another important rule that could affect their payments. A debate was held in Westminster Hall about changing the 'frozen state pension' policy, as over 400,000 state pensioners living abroad in certain countries do not get the triple lock increase. For your payments to go up each April, you need to live in the UK or in a country that has a social security agreement with the UK, while people on countries like Canada and New Zealand do not get a rates increase, with their payments frozen at the level at which they were when they moved to the relevant country. Speaking during the debate, Liberal Democrat MP Rachel Gilmour called attention to the importance of state pensioners knowing how the system works. She said: 'People who receive a pension income have worked throughout their careers for that money, and they deserve to be able to access it fairly and with the proper information, lest we see a repeat of the WASPI scandal.' Conservative MP Gregory Stafford presented the debate in Parliament, and he also called attention to the plight of the WASPI women. He said: 'Only this year, we saw continued poor treatment through policies such as the removal of the Winter Fuel Payment and the betrayal of the WASPI women, both causes that were vociferously supported by the Labour Party in opposition. Labour is happy to freeze pensioners and happy to freeze their pensions.' DUP MP Jim Shannon also drew a connection between the general lack of knowledge of the frozen pension policy and the WASPI dispute. He warned: 'The widespread lack of transparency is reminiscent of the lack of transparency with WASPI women. The all-party parliamentary group on frozen British pensions has reported that nearly 90% of all affected pensioners were unaware of the policy before moving.' Conservative MP Rebecca Smith also urged the Government to make sure people know about the rules and mentioned the WASPI issue. She said: 'The Government need to make sure they properly communicate pension terms to people well ahead of the time they expect receive a state pension. We have seen in the WASPI women campaign the issues that can be caused, and I believe that no one wants to replicate that.' Pensions minister Torsten Bell stood up to provide a Government response to the debate, and to explain the thinking behind its current policy. He said there would be large costs involved in uprating state pension rates for all those living abroad, adding that this would involve tax rises to pay for. He explained: 'The UK Government's position under all parties is that we are not in the business of new reciprocal arrangements, with any countries. 'The only recent agreements have been the rolled-over agreements with the EU and the EEA, agreed by the previous Conservative Government, but that was to maintain the existing social security arrangements.' The minister also referred to the WASPI campaign in his response: 'I gently note—very gently, so that I get out of this room safely—that many of the people calling for pensions to be uprated are also calling for reverses to the Winter Fuel Payment policy and compensation for WASPI women, but are not calling for less investment in the NHS or higher taxes. 'In the current financial climate, there are real choices, and there have been no suggestions in this debate about how any of these policies would be funded.' READ SOURCE
Daily Record
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
UK Government urged to increase frozen State Pensions for nearly half a million people
Around 453,000 pensioners are living in a country which does not have a reciprocal agreement with the UK Government. Pension Credit – Could you or someone you know be eligible? Cross-party MPs have united to intensify pressure on the UK Government over its refusal to reform the so-called 'frozen pensions' policy, which affects nearly half a million British pensioners living overseas - many of whom are now newly eligible to vote following the 2024 changes to overseas voting rights. Around 453,000 pensioners are living in a country which does not have a reciprocal agreement with the UK Government resulting in them not receiving the annual State Pension uprating. Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday, Gregory Stafford MP led a powerful call for change to State Pension rules, condemning the policy as one shutting out 'half a million voices who feel forgotten, neglected and increasingly betrayed'. The policy, which prevents State Pensions from being increased annually - to counteract the impact of inflation for UK pensioners living in certain countries - means some are receiving as little as £60 per week, far below the current £176.45 rate for the Basic State Pension for those resident in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Most retirees of the so-called Frozen Pensions scandal are located in the Commonwealth. Only British overseas pensioners living in specific countries are impacted, in what Rebecca Smith MP described as "the ultimate postcode lottery'. Those in the USA see the same annual increase as British pensioners living in the UK or France, while those in Australia or Canada, see their State Pension remain 'frozen' and effectively fall in value. For example, 100-year-old Second World War veteran Anne Puckridge, who lived and worked in the UK until the age of 76 and served in all three of the RAF, Navy and the Army, has received just £72.50 per week since 2001, the year she moved to Canada to be nearer her daughter. Jim Shannon MP similarly questioned the logic of the policy applying in only some countries and not others, arguing 'the arbitrary distinction between countries with and without an operating agreement lacks logic and smacks of red tape and bureaucracy gone mad." Stafford and fellow MPs strongly rebutted the Government's long-held defences of the policy. The Minister for Pensions, Torsten Bell MP, was mostly notably challenged on the estimated cost of ending the policy, which is estimated at £55 million per year - 0.04 per cent of the annual State Pension budget - rather than the £950m per year quoted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The difference explained by the fact the DWP are quoting for uprating and backdating payments to account for the years affected pensioners have been frozen. However, campaigners are instead asking to receive the annual increase from this point onwards. Douglas McAllister MP stressed that campaigners and supportive MPs are 'not seeking a full backdating, but for the Government to introduce some form of yearly indexing to answer that injustice'. Longterm critic of the policy Sir Roger Gale MP argued the policy is 'not a matter of cost. It is a matter of moral responsibility and duty.' The Minister was also reminded by a number of MPs that 'the vast majority of impacted pensioners still report having no knowledge of the policy's existence prior to moving overseas'. Greg Stafford MP called on the Minister to meet with the End Frozen Pensions campaign to discuss how communication might be improved over the policy's existence, and to formally determine the true cost of ending the policy. The DWP Minister did not respond to MPs' calls to meet with campaigners on this issue. Labour MP Neil Duncan Jordan questioned the UK Government's wider approach to support its more vulnerable citizens, arguing that "taken alongside recent decisions to means-test the winter fuel allowance... it could appear that the Government are trying to balance the country's books on the back of some of the poorest members of our society." State Pension payments 2025/26 The DWP has published the full list of State Pension and benefit uprated payments on here, which also includes additional elements such as the deferred rates, which are rising by 1.7 per cent (September Consumer Price Index inflation rate). Full New State Pension Weekly payment: £230.25 Fortnightly payment: £460.50 Four-weekly payment: £921 Annual amount: £11,973 Full Basic State Pension Weekly payment: £176.45 Fortnightly payment: £352.90 Four-weekly payment: £705.80 Annual amount: £9,175 Future State Pension increases The Labour Government has pledged to honour the Triple Lock or the duration of its term and the latest predictions show the following projected annual increases: 2025/26 - 4.1% (the forecast was 4%) 2026/27 - 2.5% 2027/28 - 2.5% 2028/29 - 2.5% 2029/30 - 2.5% Recent analysis released by Royal London revealed only around half of people receiving the New State Pension last year were getting the full weekly amount - and around 150,000 were on less than £100 per week.
ITV News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Keir Starmer 'running scared' on immigration with 'Rwanda-like scheme', Tory MP claims
Conservative, Reform UK, Lib Dem and Labour politicians from the South East clash over the government's approach to tackling illegal immigration on ITV News Meridian's The Last Word The Prime Minister is 'running scared' on immigration and is trying to implement a 'Rwanda-like scheme', a Conservative MP has claimed. Gregory Stafford told ITV Meridian's The Last Word that 'a massive disincentive' was required to stop people crossing the English Channel and insisted the Rwanda deal 'would have done that' had the Labour government not cancelled it. Sir Keir Starmer announced on a visit to Albania that the UK would begin talks with other countries on 'return hubs' for failed asylum seekers. The Government is exploring the possibility of sending migrants for processing in third countries prior to deportation. Labour's David Burton-Sampson, MP for Southend West and Leigh, told ITV Meridian's monthly politics programme: 'It is really important that we process asylum seekers for their benefit just as much as ours. 'Putting asylum seekers up in hotels is no good for this country, it's no good for them.' But Reform UK Kent county councillor, Maxwell Harrison, disagreed with Mr Stafford's defence of the previous Tory government's record, arguing: 'The Conservative Party had years and years, and an 80 seat majority, to do something about illegal immigration.' 'For you to have the nerve to say you're going to deal with illegal immigration is bonkers,' Cllr Harrison said. Gregory Stafford, MP for Farnham and Bordon, told The Last Word: 'What we can do is put a massive disincentive for people to come over illegally in the boats. "The Rwanda scheme had the government actually allowed us to go ahead with it. 'You cancelled it. You know that Keir Starmer is now running scared and he has decided he needs to do a Rwanda-like scheme which is why he's in the Balkans at the moment trying to do a deal.' The government announcement comes in the same week that the number of people crossing the English Channel in small boats passed 12,000 for the year, putting 2025 on course to be a record for crossings. The Liberal Democrat leader of Oxfordshire County Council, Liz Leffman, said: 'We need to have more compassion and see how these people can contribute to our society rather than talk about sending them back.' The Prime Minister has faced criticism for the language he used in a speech on `Monday, setting out plans to crack down on legal migration. Green Party MP, Siân Berry, who represents Brighton Pavilion, said Sir Keir's 'tone and rhetoric' was 'awful'. Sir Keir said the country risked becoming an 'island of strangers' if migration controls were not tightened.
The Independent
05-03-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Patients facing 16-year wait for autism tests as MPs say waiting times must fall
A woman awaiting an autism assessment was given a waiting time of at least 16 years, MPs were told, as they said extra money for the NHS must lead to improvements in care and waiting times. There were also calls from the Labour benches to ensure the Casey Commission into social care did not fundamentally delay a permanent solution for care as the Commons debated health spending on Wednesday. The Department for Health and Social Care got a £25.6 billion increase in funding in last year's autumn budget, Labour's first since it came into Government. This takes the overall budget to £201.9 billion according to a House of Commons report. Chairwoman of the Health and Social Care select committee Layla Moran said the public will be unhappy if the long-awaited funding increase did not lead to better standards, and quicker waiting times. The Liberal Democrat MP said a 34-year-old constituent was told she could have to wait until her 50s to be assessed for autism. The Oxford West and Abingdon MP said: 'Now the Government has announced an incredibly welcome £22.6 billion increase in the Health and Social Care day-to-day spend, and that's in addition to the further £3 billion in capital expenditure. 'And it sounds like, and it is, a huge amount of money, and if it's not spent wisely the only thing that will be bigger than the uplift itself is the disappointment of our constituents if it doesn't lead to the change that they so desperately want and need. 'A constituent of mine was referred to her GP for an NHS-funded assessment for autism spectrum disorder. She took tests which all exceeded the threshold, and then she was told that she had to be on a waiting list with an expected wait of 16 to 18 years. Yes, years. 'She's now 34 with young children and waiting for an appointment until she's 51. It's clearly ridiculous.' Health and Social Care committee member Gregory Stafford agreed on the need for the funding to be matched by improvements. The Conservative MP for Farnham and Bordon said: 'The Government is pouring billions into the NHS, but without demanding productivity reforms the money is being absorbed by the system instead of reaching the frontline where it is needed the most.' The Estimates Day debate heard concerns about health coverage being adequate to match growing housing need and a shortage of dental provision. Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) raised fears that the independent commission on adult social care reform, led by Baroness Louise Casey, will mean a long-term solution for the issue would be further delayed. He said a national care service should be formed, and bring together medical, nursing, personal and social care – with free domiciliary and residential care provided to those who are already self-funding. Mr Duncan-Jordan said: 'There is widespread acceptance that our current social care system is neither sustainable nor fit for purpose. 'For far too long it's been the Cinderella service of the welfare state, overlooked and underfunded and suffering from a number of inherent problems that started to emerge decades ago but which have now become critical as a result of severe cuts to funding and increasing demand.' He added: 'I'm afraid the new Casey Commission will only delay that debate further in my view. 'Now we have known about the problems for a very long time. Over the last two decades we have had at least 20 commissions, inquiries and reports analysing what is wrong with the system and what might be done to address the problems. 'However successive governments have found the issue too difficult to tackle and have instead favoured short-term answers which have largely left the system untouched.' Labour MP Clive Betts said at home chemotherapy should be offered on the NHS as he argued it is 'cheaper and it benefits the patients'. In the Commons, Mr Betts, who is currently being treated for myeloma, said arranging sessions for chemotherapy can be difficult particularly for those travelling 'many, many miles' for appointments at specialist hospitals. The Sheffield South East MP said one of his consultants has 'developed an idea for at home chemotherapy, it works, it's good'.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Patients facing 16-year wait for autism tests as MPs say waiting times must fall
A woman awaiting an autism assessment was given a waiting time of at least 16 years, MPs were told, as they said extra money for the NHS must lead to improvements in care and waiting times. There were also calls from the Labour benches to ensure the Casey Commission into social care did not fundamentally delay a permanent solution for care as the Commons debated health spending on Wednesday. The Department for Health and Social Care got a £25.6 billion increase in funding in last year's autumn budget, Labour's first since it came into Government. This takes the overall budget to £201.9 billion according to a House of Commons report. Chairwoman of the Health and Social Care select committee Layla Moran said the public will be unhappy if the long-awaited funding increase did not lead to better standards, and quicker waiting times. The Liberal Democrat MP said a 34-year-old constituent was told she could have to wait until her 50s to be assessed for autism. The Oxford West and Abingdon MP said: 'Now the Government has announced an incredibly welcome £22.6 billion increase in the Health and Social Care day-to-day spend, and that's in addition to the further £3 billion in capital expenditure. 'And it sounds like, and it is, a huge amount of money, and if it's not spent wisely the only thing that will be bigger than the uplift itself is the disappointment of our constituents if it doesn't lead to the change that they so desperately want and need. 'A constituent of mine was referred to her GP for an NHS-funded assessment for autism spectrum disorder. She took tests which all exceeded the threshold, and then she was told that she had to be on a waiting list with an expected wait of 16 to 18 years. Yes, years. 'She's now 34 with young children and waiting for an appointment until she's 51. It's clearly ridiculous.' Health and Social Care committee member Gregory Stafford agreed on the need for the funding to be matched by improvements. The Conservative MP for Farnham and Bordon said: 'The Government is pouring billions into the NHS, but without demanding productivity reforms the money is being absorbed by the system instead of reaching the frontline where it is needed the most.' The Estimates Day debate heard concerns about health coverage being adequate to match growing housing need and a shortage of dental provision. Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) raised fears that the independent commission on adult social care reform, led by Baroness Louise Casey, will mean a long-term solution for the issue would be further delayed. He said a national care service should be formed, and bring together medical, nursing, personal and social care – with free domiciliary and residential care provided to those who are already self-funding. Mr Duncan-Jordan said: 'There is widespread acceptance that our current social care system is neither sustainable nor fit for purpose. 'For far too long it's been the Cinderella service of the welfare state, overlooked and underfunded and suffering from a number of inherent problems that started to emerge decades ago but which have now become critical as a result of severe cuts to funding and increasing demand.' He added: 'I'm afraid the new Casey Commission will only delay that debate further in my view. 'Now we have known about the problems for a very long time. Over the last two decades we have had at least 20 commissions, inquiries and reports analysing what is wrong with the system and what might be done to address the problems. 'However successive governments have found the issue too difficult to tackle and have instead favoured short-term answers which have largely left the system untouched.' Labour MP Clive Betts said at home chemotherapy should be offered on the NHS as he argued it is 'cheaper and it benefits the patients'. In the Commons, Mr Betts, who is currently being treated for myeloma, said arranging sessions for chemotherapy can be difficult particularly for those travelling 'many, many miles' for appointments at specialist hospitals. The Sheffield South East MP said one of his consultants has 'developed an idea for at home chemotherapy, it works, it's good'.
