Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Thewliss Excerpts
Tuesday 9th May 2023

(1 year, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Andrew Griffith Portrait Andrew Griffith
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The hon. Lady omits to mention both the headwinds from the global pandemic and Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. Any financially literate conversation on this subject has to acknowledge that we see very similar rates of increase in inflation and rising interest rates across the developed world. In that context, this Government are focusing on stability, ensuring that we continue to pay down debt over the cycle and do not do as the previous Labour Government did and leave a note behind for their successors saying that there is no money left.

Alison Thewliss Portrait Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)
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Food price inflation stood at 19.2% in March, up from February. That is causing severe problems for many in my constituency, particularly those who have no recourse to public funds status, meaning that they are not entitled to any support from the Government whatsoever. What will the Minister do to help those people, who are struggling and heading for the food banks because they cannot afford to make ends meet?

Andrew Griffith Portrait Andrew Griffith
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In the interest of time, I will not repeat for the hon. Lady the support for households, which averages £3,500 across the United Kingdom. If she has constituents with particular needs, the Government have recently extended the £1 billion household support fund and I suggests she works with her local authority to try to meet their needs through that.