Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Marion Fellows

Wednesday 26th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I remember the conversation with my hon. Friend after this terrible tragedy involving his father-in-law. I will certainly ensure that Ministers from the proper Department sit down with him to explore this issue.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)]

Q13. Figures released today show that £973 million of arrears are currently owed under the Child Maintenance Service. Although the new enforcement powers are welcome, CMS’s bark continues to be worse than its bite. The UK Government must clamp down on the non-payment of child maintenance, and they must do it now. Will the Prime Minister agree to launch a full root-and-branch review of CMS to ensure that we have a new strategy, in which maintenance payments are properly enforced, to lift these children who, in many cases, are in poverty due to a lack of maintenance payments?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is right that we want to ensure maintenance payments are made for those children. Normally the payments are made by fathers but, in some cases, they can be made by mothers, and we need to make sure they recognise their responsibilities and take them seriously. This is a difficult area. For many years, efforts have been made by different Governments to ensure that we get this right and that maintenance payments are made.

I am sure every Member has had constituency cases in relation to this issue. The simplified system introduced in recent years has been working better than the previous system, but I will ensure the relevant Department looks at this issue.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Marion Fellows

Wednesday 1st May 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an important issue and I am very happy to write to him with more detail in relation to the actions of the Financial Conduct Authority as it looks at those companies on its approved list. I think that it would be more helpful to him if I were able to give him a more detailed reply in writing.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)]

Q6. May I be lucky enough to be one of the 27% who get their question answered by this Prime Minister? Payday loans disproportionately affect the vulnerable and the Motherwell postcode has the largest payday loans per head in Scotland. As this Government’s universal credit system is forcing people to turn to these high-interest lenders, will she halt the roll-out of universal credit and take action on the vultures in these companies who prey on the most desperate in our society?

[The Prime Minister]

On the issue of universal credit, this Government have changed the way it operates in rolling it out. We have ensured that somebody moving on to universal credit can get 100% advance payment where that is necessary for them. May I also remind the hon. Lady that the Scottish Government now have extra powers in relation to welfare, which, so far, they have been reluctant to use?

European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Marion Fellows

Monday 17th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Crucially, a number of European Union leaders made very clear their view about the backstop being temporary or not being used at all. They made it clear that they were willing to listen to further proposals in order to give greater clarification on that point. That is exactly why I think it is right that we carry on talking to the European Union about this matter.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)]

A hundred years ago, through the suffragettes, we saw women’s empowerment here in Parliament. Why does the Prime Minister not empower MPs here before Christmas, and why will she not empower the people with a second people’s vote?

[The Prime Minister]

I refer the hon. Lady to the answers I gave to those questions earlier.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Marion Fellows

Wednesday 21st November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As my hon. Friend will know, and as I set out earlier, if it is necessary to have an interim arrangement to provide the guarantee in relation to the border of Northern Ireland, there are a number of ways in which that can be achieved—the backstop, as identified in the protocol, the extension of the implementation period, or alternative arrangements—and work is being done on them.

The backstop is intended to be a temporary arrangement, and for that limited period of time. If my hon. Friend just casts his mind to a practical thought about what could happen, if we were in the situation where the backstop had to be in place for a matter of months, for example, it would be right for the United Kingdom to give the commitment that we would not be looking to diverge from regulations during that period and that we would ensure that we kept that free access for the goods from Northern Ireland coming into Great Britain, as we have committed in the withdrawal agreement—in the text that is set out—and as we had committed previously. That will of course be a decision for us, here. What is important is that we have a means of ensuring that the backstop remains temporary. The best means of doing that is what we are doing at the moment: negotiating the future relationship, which will ensure that the backstop, if it is ever used, remains temporary, and preferably is never used at all.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)]

Q12. The United Nations has recently joined other radical organisations such as the National Audit Office in condemning the Government’s failure to address the tragedy, that is poverty. Which of the fundamental failures in implementing universal credit does this Prime Minister most regret—her failure to fund this fully, or the decision taken to triple the time that those who need a safety net have to wait to receive payments to which they are fully entitled?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady will know that we made changes to universal credit to ensure that people are able to access 100% of their payments at the earliest possible stage if that is what is necessary. She raises the issue of poverty. Let me just give her a few figures. There are 1 million fewer people in absolute poverty today—a record low; 300,000 fewer children in absolute poverty—a record low; and 637,000 fewer children living in workless households—a record low. That is due to the action of this Government and the impact of universal credit.

EU Exit Negotiations

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Marion Fellows

Thursday 15th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We will be leaving the EU on 29 March 2019. After that date, we will no longer be a member of the EU. Yes, we have agreed in the transition period that we will continue to operate with the EU very much as we do today, and that is to avoid a cliff edge for business on 29 March and to ensure that business can adapt to the changes in our future relationship. I repeat that from the 29 March 2019 we will no longer be a member of the EU.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)]

During the course of yesterday, and excluding the Cabinet, can the Prime Minister tell the House which organisations and individuals were informed and briefed on the proposed deal, in which order they were briefed and what hierarchy was applied?

[The Prime Minister]

Members of the Cabinet came together yesterday to look at the withdrawal agreement and the outline political declaration. The information was made available to them once the text had been finalised. Those negotiations carried on quite late, and the Cabinet was able to take its decision on the basis of the proper papers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Marion Fellows

Wednesday 14th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I recognise the concern that my hon. Friend’s constituents have raised about this issue and thank her for the hard work that she has undertaken to campaign on this issue on her constituents’ behalf. I understand that my right hon. Friend the Transport Secretary is aware of this issue. He is urgently looking into it, and I encourage my hon. Friend to continue to engage with him on this matter to ensure that her constituents get what they were promised.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)]

Q3. Post offices are closing in their hundreds as postmasters struggle to make a living under the contract introduced by this Government. Through its North Star initiative, the publicly owned Post Office is aiming for £100 million of profit by 2012, while postmasters’ pay has declined by £107 million since 2012. Will the Prime Minister take action now to save our post office network and intervene to ensure that postmasters get a fair rate?

[The Prime Minister]

Obviously we have seen a change to the post office network across the United Kingdom—it has happened as people’s pattern of behaviour in relation to these matters has changed—but I am sure the Post Office is making decisions that it believes are right for local communities and to ensure that services are there where they are needed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Marion Fellows

Wednesday 28th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point, and I hope the Leader of the Opposition has heard what he had to say. When we are talking about trade deals in the future, I sometimes think that the Leader of the Opposition and his shadow Chancellor think that the only good trade deals are with Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea.

[Marion Fellows (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)]

Q8. The brave men and women in our emergency services have consistently put the safety of others first, especially in response to the terrible events we have seen in recent months. We all pay tribute to their professionalism, which is why I believe it is important that we give them all the resources they need to do their vital job. It is outrageous that in Scotland the police and fire services are required to pay VAT, which has cost front-line services £35 million—