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Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
No commitment to scrap two-child benefit cap until funding is clear
The Government will not commit to lifting the two-child benefit cap until it is clear how it will be paid for, a minister has told the Commons. Further calls to scrap the controversial policy were made by Labour backbenchers on Tuesday, during a Conservative-led debate focused on retaining the cap. There were more than 1.6 million children living in households in England, Wales and Scotland affected by the two-child benefit limit in April, according to figures published by the Department for Work and Pensions last week. Work and pensions minister Alison McGovern said the Child Poverty Task Force will look at 'all the levers across incomes, costs, debt and local support that we can pull to prevent poverty, including social security reform'. Speaking during the opposition day debate, she added: 'Our universal credit review is considering ways that the system can improve in order to stabilise family finances and provide routes into good work. 'And on the two-child limit, specifically, the consequences, as I've said in my speech, of the Conservative choices made over the past decade and a half are clear for all to see. 'We have rightly said many times we will not commit to any policy without knowing how we are going to pay for it.' Labour MP for Rochdale, Paul Waugh, said: '59% of families (who) have more than two children, on universal credit, are in work, and that's far from the feckless parent caricature that we've heard today from the Conservatives. 'And more importantly, does she agree with me that actually it's the children (who) should come first, and because the children should come first, we should urgently scrap the two-child cap as quickly as possible?' Ms McGovern declined to respond directly to Mr Waugh's question, instead arguing that the Conservative Party 'only wants to divide people'. Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth Brian Leishman also said 'the Government should lift it immediately', adding: 'Having a child is a blessing, not a blessing everyone receives, and the two-child cap is an inherently cruel policy that punishes the least advantaged. 'The idea that a third or a fourth or a fifth child is worth less than the first two is beyond wicked.' Conservative shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately had described the welfare bill as a 'ticking time bomb' as she opened the debate. She added: 'We have brought forward this debate today on the two-child limit, because somebody has to make the case for fiscal responsibility, for living within our means, for fairness, for making sure work pays, and for keeping the two-child cap.' MPs rejected the Conservatives' motion that the benefit cap should remain, with 106 voting in favour, 440 against, majority 334.
The Independent
13-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Warning over assisted dying TikTok adverts as MPs further debate Bill
Tight legal safeguards are needed to rule out assisted dying being advertised on TikTok in future, Parliament has heard. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has returned to the Commons for further debate, with an ad ban among the issues discussed. The Bill is undergoing a second day of report stage on Friday, with various amendments being debated and possibly voted on. Its third reading – where a vote is taken on the overall Bill – could take place next Friday. Opening debate, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater proposed an amendment to her Bill which would impose a duty on the Government to make regulations prohibiting advertisements to promote services relating to voluntary assisted dying should the legislation pass. She has previously said it 'would feel inappropriate for this to be something which was advertised'. Bill opponent and fellow Labour MP Paul Waugh warned of 'unspecified exceptions, which could make the ban itself worthless', adding he had put forward a tighter amendment to 'strengthen the Bill on this issue and to better protect the vulnerable'. Addressing the Commons, he said: 'Advertising works because we human beings are suggestible. Prone to messaging, visual clues and hints. Older people are bombarded with adverts for everything from stairlifts to care homes. 'One person's advert, though, is another person's public information campaign.' He added that unless Ms Leadbeater's amendment is tightened to limit the exceptions to a ban, social media ads on the issue in future would be possible. He said: 'Many in this House rightly try to protect teenagers from online harms. But the online harm of an ad for a website about assisted dying shared on TikTok could be a reality without the tighter safeguards in my amendment.' Other issues being debated on Friday include an amendment requiring the Health Secretary to publish an assessment of the availability, quality and distribution of palliative and end-of-life care one year after the Bill passing into law. Pledging her support for the amendment, which has been tabled by Liberal Democrat Munira Wilson, Ms Leadbeater said MPs should not have to choose between supporting assisted dying or palliative care as it is not an 'either/or' conversation for dying people. She said palliative care and assisted dying 'can and do work side by side to give terminally-ill patients the care and choice they deserve in their final days', and urged MPs to support 'all options available to terminally ill people'. Ms Wilson's amendment is supported by Marie Curie, which said it is 'desperately needed as the end-of-life care system is in crisis, with huge gaps in services and a lack of NHS leadership on this vital part of our health and care system'. The beginning of Friday's session saw MPs add a new opt-out clause to the Bill. The amendment, meaning no person including all health and social care professionals, can be obliged to take part in assisted dying had been debated and approved last month, but has now been formally added to the Bill. The Bill passed second reading stage by a majority of 55 during a historic vote in November which saw MPs support the principle of assisted dying. Various media reports have indicated some MPs who voted in favour last year could withdraw their support amid concerns around safeguards and how much scrutiny the proposed legislation has received, while others might switch to supporting a Bill that backers argue has been strengthened over time. Opinion in the medical community has been divided, with the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) expressing concern, but some MPs who are doctors are among the Bill's strongest supporters. Seven RCPsych members, including a former president and vice president, have written to MPs to distance themselves from their college's concern, instead describing the current Bill as 'workable, safe and compassionate' with a 'clear and transparent legal framework'. Meanwhile, the Children's Commissioner for England has repeated her call for children's voices to be heard in the conversation, saying their views had been 'at best been sidelined, at worst written off entirely simply because they would not fall within the scope of the current scope of legislation'. Demonstrators both for and against a change in the law once again gathered outside Parliament to make their views known on the Bill. Disability campaigner George Fielding, representing campaign group Not Dead Yet UK, argued the Bill 'risks state-sanctioned suicide' but Claire Macdonald, director of My Death, My Decision said 'no-one should be forced to suffer, and the British public wants politicians to change the law on assisted dying'. In a letter to MPs this week, Ms Leadbeater said supporters and opponents appear in agreement that 'if we are to pass this legislation it should be the best and safest Bill possible'. She added: 'I'm confident it can and will be.' As it stands, the proposed legislation would allow terminally-ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. MPs are entitled to have a free vote on the Bill and any amendments, meaning they vote according to their conscience rather than along party lines.
Western Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Health
- Western Telegraph
Warning over assisted dying TikTok adverts as MPs further debate Bill
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has returned to the Commons for further debate, with an ad ban among the issues discussed. The Bill is undergoing a second day of report stage on Friday, with various amendments being debated and possibly voted on. Its third reading – where a vote is taken on the overall Bill – could take place next Friday. The online harm of an ad for a website about assisted dying shared on TikTok could be a reality without the tighter safeguards in my amendment Paul Waugh, Labour MP Opening debate, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater proposed an amendment to her Bill which would impose a duty on the Government to make regulations prohibiting advertisements to promote services relating to voluntary assisted dying should the legislation pass. She has previously said it 'would feel inappropriate for this to be something which was advertised'. Bill opponent and fellow Labour MP Paul Waugh warned of 'unspecified exceptions, which could make the ban itself worthless', adding he had put forward a tighter amendment to 'strengthen the Bill on this issue and to better protect the vulnerable'. Addressing the Commons, he said: 'Advertising works because we human beings are suggestible. Prone to messaging, visual clues and hints. Older people are bombarded with adverts for everything from stairlifts to care homes. 'One person's advert, though, is another person's public information campaign.' A person holds a hard copy of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill (Stefan Rousseau/PA) He added that unless Ms Leadbeater's amendment is tightened to limit the exceptions to a ban, social media ads on the issue in future would be possible. He said: 'Many in this House rightly try to protect teenagers from online harms. But the online harm of an ad for a website about assisted dying shared on TikTok could be a reality without the tighter safeguards in my amendment.' Other issues being debated on Friday include an amendment requiring the Health Secretary to publish an assessment of the availability, quality and distribution of palliative and end-of-life care one year after the Bill passing into law. Pledging her support for the amendment, which has been tabled by Liberal Democrat Munira Wilson, Ms Leadbeater said MPs should not have to choose between supporting assisted dying or palliative care as it is not an 'either/or' conversation for dying people. She said palliative care and assisted dying 'can and do work side by side to give terminally-ill patients the care and choice they deserve in their final days', and urged MPs to support 'all options available to terminally ill people'. Dame Rachel de Souza the Children's Commissioner for England has repeated her call for children's voices to be heard in the conversation (Aaron Chown/PA) Ms Wilson's amendment is supported by Marie Curie, which said it is 'desperately needed as the end-of-life care system is in crisis, with huge gaps in services and a lack of NHS leadership on this vital part of our health and care system'. The beginning of Friday's session saw MPs add a new opt-out clause to the Bill. The amendment, meaning no person including all health and social care professionals, can be obliged to take part in assisted dying had been debated and approved last month, but has now been formally added to the Bill. The Bill passed second reading stage by a majority of 55 during a historic vote in November which saw MPs support the principle of assisted dying. Various reports have indicated some MPs who voted in favour last year could withdraw their support amid concerns around safeguards and how much scrutiny the proposed legislation has received, while others might switch to supporting a Bill that backers argue has been strengthened over time. Opinion in the medical community has been divided, with the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) expressing concern, but some MPs who are doctors are among the Bill's strongest supporters. Seven RCPsych members, including a former president and vice president, have written to MPs to distance themselves from their college's concern, instead describing the current Bill as 'workable, safe and compassionate' with a 'clear and transparent legal framework'. Meanwhile, the Children's Commissioner for England has repeated her call for children's voices to be heard in the conversation, saying their views had been 'at best been sidelined, at worst written off entirely simply because they would not fall within the scope of the current scope of legislation'. Demonstrators both for and against a change in the law once again gathered outside Parliament to make their views known on the Bill. Disability campaigner George Fielding, representing campaign group Not Dead Yet UK, argued the Bill 'risks state-sanctioned suicide' but Claire Macdonald, director of My Death, My Decision said 'no-one should be forced to suffer, and the British public wants politicians to change the law on assisted dying'. MPs gathered in the Commons for further debate on the assisted dying Bill (Anthony Devlin/PA In a letter to MPs this week, Ms Leadbeater said supporters and opponents appear in agreement that 'if we are to pass this legislation it should be the best and safest Bill possible'. She added: 'I'm confident it can and will be.' As it stands, the proposed legislation would allow terminally-ill adults in England and Wales, with fewer than six months to live, to apply for an assisted death, subject to approval by two doctors and a panel featuring a social worker, senior legal figure and psychiatrist. MPs are entitled to have a free vote on the Bill and any amendments, meaning they vote according to their conscience rather than along party lines.
BBC News
11-06-2025
- BBC News
Call for law change after killer driver failed to read eye test chart
The death of a woman who was killed crossing the road by a driver who failed to read the top line of a Specsavers eye test chart months before was 'entirely avoidable', an MP has Ferguson, 75, was hit by a van near her home on Market Street in Whitworth, Rossendale, in Lancashire, on 11 July driver, 72-year-old Vernon Law, had been diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes but told his optometrist he did not drive and failed to tell the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) about his sight issues, an inquest MP Paul Waugh said Mrs Ferguson was a "victim of a broken system" and called for mandatory reporting of unfit drivers to the DVLA by medics. There is no mandatory legal requirement for optometrists to notify the agency when a patient is unfit to drive, unless they judge it to be in the public are required to self-report any sight issues to the DVLA are the rules for driving when you have failing eyesight?Waugh is part a cross-party group of MPs that has written to the Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to call for mandatory reporting in these Department for Transport has been contacted for comment. 'Preventable' The inquest into Mrs Ferguson's death at Preston County Hall heard Law had failed to declare his sight loss issues in several applications to the Ferguson's husband David, who relied on her everything, ended his own life following her death, the inquest was jailed for four years and banned for driving for life after admitting causing death by dangerous driving Waugh told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he and the other MPs are waiting for meeting with the transport said he wanted to "find a way to close this loophole and prevent further tragic and preventable deaths on our roads from reckless drivers".In their letter to the transport secretary, the MPs highlighted a campaign led by Susan mother Marie Cunningham and friend Grace Foulds were killed in Southport by a driver with a known visual impairment who failed to report it to the MPs have also called for the creation of a system to share important medical information with the DVLA and police, and stronger checks on visually impaired drivers. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
The Independent
08-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Labour splits over assisted dying debate heat up ahead of crucial vote
Kim Leadbeater has been warned by a Labour colleague that an article she promoted on assisted dying has only served to sway undecided MPs against her end of life legislation. The shot across the bows from former political journalist-turned Labour Rochdale Paul Waugh has come just days ahead of the final stages in the Commons of Ms Leadbeater's Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. Ms Leadbeater had tweeted and quoted an article by Sharnee Rawson in The Guardian highlighting how her grandparents in Australia ended their lives together not long after their 70th wedding anniversary. Ms Leadbeater pulled out the touching quote: 'When they chose to die together, my grandparents wrote the final chapter of a love story spanning 70 years.' But in a warning Mr Waugh responded: 'I have the utmost sympathy for this family. But this article is precisely why more MPs are turning against the Assisted Dying Bill. Neither of the couple involved appears to have had a terminal illness, yet their deaths went ahead despite 'strict' eligibility rules.' He went on: 'The piece even spells out that the implementation of the rules was far from strict: 'It was unclear whether the spinal condition would qualify as a terminal illness.' He added: 'I voted against the UK bill at 2nd reading and will certainly do so again at 3rd reading.' Ms Leadbeater retorted to the criticism online by highlighting the strict legal criteria in Australia for end of life assistance. 'The criteria in New South Wales are quite clear,' she said. Since Ms Leadbeater won a majority of 55 for her bill at second reading last November a series of heated arguments at committee stage have seen support dwindling. At least 12 MPs who backed her previously or abstained now plan to vote against it. Concerns have been raised over Ms Leadbeater's decision to move proposals away from a judge making the final decision in court towards leaving the job to an expert panel. Ms Leadbeater argues this strengthens the process, but critics have claimed it makes coercion more likely. If it clears the Commons, there is a threat that the bill could clog up business in the Lords with strong opposition from peers, including cross bench former Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson. The row comes amid concerns that attempts to decriminalise abortion beyond the legal limit of 28 weeks will also become a distraction for the government, with divisions among the parliamentary party. The Independent has learned of plans to derail the government's Crime and Policing Bill in the Lords if amendments by Labour MPs Stella Creasy and Tonia Antoniazzi decriminalising late abortions are passed. Already, there are expected to be splits within Labour in the Commons and what is a 'conscience vote' even though it is attached to government legislation with York Central Labour MP Rachael Maskell at the forefront of arguing against the move. But a peer has told The Independent that a cross party group in the Lords are 'ready to play ping pong' with a crucial government bill over the issue. 'There will be attempts to move criminal responsibility to providers instead of women and other moves which will be difficult for the government,' a source said. 'There will be new attempts to control home abortion pill provision as well. It will be opening a can of worms. 'Because this [abortion reform] was not in the manifesto we can hold up the bill without the government being able to use the Parliament to bypass the Lords.' It is understood that opponents have been boosted by some polling last week by Whitestone Insight. Asked if 'having an illegal abortion should continue to be a criminal offence to protect both the unborn and vulnerable women who could be coerced into losing a baby they may have wanted, for example by an abusive partner', more than six in 10 (62 per cent) agreed, while less than one in five (17 per cent) disagreed. A similar number (64 per cent) agreed with the statement that 'abortion is a matter of life and death and it is therefore appropriate that the criminal law provides a clear boundary to protect everyone involved'. Just 14 per cent of those surveyed disagreed. The poll of more than 2,000 members of the public, commissioned by the pro-life group SPUC.
