Lord Palmer of Childs HillSpokesperson

What they’ve raised

Lord Palmer of Childs Hill has engaged extensively on welfare and employment rights through 23 debate speeches, with particular focus on support for unpaid carers, including kinship carers, and concerns about the impact of benefit policy changes on vulnerable groups. His contributions have addressed interconnected issues including mental health's impact on employment, cancer diagnosis delays, and staffing pressures in public services, alongside advocacy for extended parental and carer's leave protections. He has consistently critiqued what he characterises as punitive welfare measures while emphasising the need for joined-up policy between government departments on health and work support.

Generated from their own Hansard record, below

Record by topic

1. Mental health219th of 86716.0
2. Unpaid carers45th of 27712.0
3. NHS & care workforce/staffing55th of 2958.0
4. Adult social care & reform155th of 3614.0
5. Cancer320th of 6134.0
6. Dementia206th of 2452.0
7. Palliative & end of life care437th of 5522.0
8. Learning disability & autism756th of 898

What they’ve said

• “…We have seen growing numbers of people, in particular younger people, experiencing poor mental health and other conditions that require additional support. Those trends should concern us because of what they say about the health of our society, not simply because they affect departmental budgets.”

  Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Decisions and Appeals) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 · 2026-07-22 · Read on Hansard ↗

• “…Children who grow up in poverty are more likely to experience worse educational outcomes, poorer physical and mental health, and fewer opportunities in adulthood. That means that child poverty stores up pressure for the NHS, schools, local services and the welfare system itself.”

  Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill · 2026-03-12 · Read on Hansard ↗

• “My Lords, I thank the Minister for that information, but can she say what assessment has been made of the impact of poor mental health on young people’s ability to gain work? What is the connection between the Department for Work and Pensions and the NHS in dealing with this problem?”

  Youth Unemployment · 2026-02-05 · Read on Hansard ↗

• “My Lords, I thank the Minister for that, but what assessment has been made of the impact of poor mental health on young people’s ability to enter work? How joined up is the Department for Work and Pensions with the NHS—if it is joined up at all?”