Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Mims Davies(1 week ago)
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Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)
Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker. Here’s to festive tipples in our locals, but it is certainly not a cheery Christmas for the Women Against State Pension Inequality, whom Labour has betrayed.
Hospitality is at the heart of our economy, with a diverse workforce: 17% of the sector’s workers are disabled under the Equality Act 2010; 20% are from ethnic minority groups; and over 54% are women. Will the Secretary of State tell the House what conversations have taken place between her and the Chancellor on the chilling effect on future earnings of the Labour Government’s jobs tax and higher business rates, underpinned by £3.4 billion of increased costs according to UKHospitality, which will drive down future earnings?
Bridget Phillipson
I agree that the hospitality sector is crucial to our economy, and at this time of the year, when many people will be working across Christmas, I pay tribute to them for their work and thank them for their contribution to our economy. On her wider question, the hon. Lady knows as well as I do that the Government inherited a £22 billion black hole from the Conservative party. We have had to make some difficult decisions in order to stabilise our economy and get it back on track.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Mims Davies(1 month, 1 week ago)
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Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)
It is working women who will pay the price for Labour’s Budget of broken promises, with the increase to employers’ national insurance contributions making working people worse off and affecting childcare settings. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has said that single-parent families—80% of them are headed by women—will, on average, be £1,000 worse off by October 2029. Has the Minister assessed what additional negative impact there will be on the labour market of the hidden scrapping of the child benefit changes for single-parent households? This has been described by Martin Lewis as an “unfair” penalty to single-parent households.
Bridget Phillipson
We are committed to transforming the lives of women across our country, and that applies to single parents, too. I am leading the child poverty taskforce with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Unlike the last Government, we are committed to driving down the number of children growing up in poverty. The last Government left a shocking record of rising levels of child poverty, and this Government will turn it around.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Bridget Phillipson and Mims Davies(2 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Mims Davies (East Grinstead and Uckfield) (Con)
The Conservative Government introduced the hugely successful opt-out HIV and hepatitis testing programme for A&Es in London, Brighton, Blackpool and Manchester, with a £20 million commitment to expand the programme to 33 more, diagnosing more than 1,300 people with HIV in the first two years and tackling health inequalities. This has meant, crucially, that more LGBT+ people, women, people of black African ethnicity and older people have been diagnosed and supported. Will the Minister assure the House that the funding and commitment will remain?
Bridget Phillipson
I thank the hon. Lady for raising such an important issue, on which all Members across the House want to make progress. Officials are working on further plans, which we will set out very shortly, but we will be keen to work with her and colleagues across the House to make sure that we eradicate new HIV and AIDS infections.