Arms Export Licences (Saudi Arabia)
Debate between Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Elizabeth Truss(4 years, 7 months ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
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Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton, Kemptown) (Lab/Co-op)
Last year, the Department issued 30 million rounds of Warsaw Pact weapons to Saudi Arabia incorrectly. Then the Court of Appeal judgment and now this. Is it not time for the joint unit to be turned into an independent unit like any other regulator and for the Committees on Arms Export Controls to be turned into a proper Committee of the House?
Elizabeth Truss
As I have said, errors were made and that is why we have asked the director general at the Department for Work and Pensions to conduct a full review of how this process is being operated.
ONS Decisions: Student Loans
Debate between Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Elizabeth Truss(5 years, 4 months ago)
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.
Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.
This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record
Elizabeth Truss
I have been very clear that this decision, which is fundamentally an accounting decision, will not affect the outcome of the review.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton, Kemptown) (Lab/Co-op)
This may be an accounting decision, but it clearly does increase the deficit for the Government. With students paying 6.3% interest, 70% of students never paying the full loan back and almost 50% of the loans never paid back at all, who is the current student finance system working for?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Elizabeth Truss(6 years, 2 months ago)
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Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Brighton, Kemptown) (Lab/Co-op)
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)
It is right that more of our money that is spent locally is raised locally. In 2010, councils were 80% dependent on Government grants. By 2020, they will largely be funded by council tax and other local revenues.
Lloyd Russell-Moyle
My own council of Brighton and Hove has had to make £52 million-worth of cuts in three years, despite superb Labour leadership in the city. With one of the Minister’s own Tory councils going bust, will the Chancellor finally commit to properly funding local government in tomorrow’s local government finance settlement?
Elizabeth Truss
We have provided local councils with council tax flexibilities to enable them to fund spending in their areas. It is absolutely right that councils should not waste money and should find savings. The fact is that we went through an incredibly profligate period under Labour in which the Government were running record deficits, and we have succeeded in reducing the deficit by three quarters. I must also point out to the hon. Gentleman that councils have reserves of £23 billion. In fact, those reserves have increased by £8 billion since 2010.