Oral Answers to Questions
Amber Rudd Excerpts(11 years, 7 months ago)
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The Prime Minister
Obviously, I am very sorry, on behalf of the whole House, about the loss of the hon. Lady’s constituent, but I am sure that she—and, indeed, I would have thought everyone in this House—would accept that it is necessary to have a system to check who is available for work, and who is able to work and who is not. The whole point of the employment and support allowance programme is that we can judge those people who can work but who need extra help and those who cannot work, who should always be looked after. I find it extraordinary that heads are shaking among Labour Members; I thought it was the Labour party, not the welfare party.
Amber Rudd (Hastings and Rye) (Con)
Q5. It is essential that this Government continue with much-needed welfare reform because, coupled with the tremendous increase in private sector jobs of 1.25 million, it is having a real effect in Hastings and Rye, with unemployment falling from 7.4% to 6.8%. Could I urge the Prime Minister to stay on this track and make the difficult decisions when he has to for the good of this country, and not to listen to the voices opposite, which have only one thing to suggest: borrow, borrow, borrow?
The Prime Minister
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The fact is that since the election, the number of people on out-of-work benefits has fallen by 270,000. It is essential that we continue with programmes to boost enterprise, but also to make work pay. We should not listen to the Opposition on issues such as the benefit cap, when the shadow Chancellor was on the radio last week saying that £26,000 was an unfair cap. People across this country will be incredulous that that is the Labour position, but it is.
Oral Answers to Questions
Amber Rudd Excerpts(12 years, 5 months ago)
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Michael Moore
It may suit the hon. Gentleman’s case, but he cannot be allowed to forget the legacy of his Government and the mess that we inherited two years ago, nor can the Opposition be allowed to be blinkered about the challenges around Europe and the world. We are ensuring that we create the right financial and economic conditions to get Scotland and the UK economy back on the right foot.
Amber Rudd (Hastings and Rye) (Con)
4. What recent discussions representatives of his Department have had with representatives of the Scottish agricultural industry.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)
I meet regularly with representatives of the Scottish agricultural industry, including the National Farmers Union of Scotland and individual producers. I look forward to further direct engagement tomorrow, when I attend the royal highland show.
Amber Rudd
Does the Minister agree that those in the Scottish agricultural sector are better off with Scotland remaining part of the UK?
David Mundell
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. An independent Scotland would shrink our home market of 60 million consumers to a mere 5 million overnight. Farmers would be reliant on exporting their produce. Some 64% of Scottish beef was sold to the rest of the UK, as the first point of delivery, in 2011.
Oral Answers to Questions
Amber Rudd Excerpts(12 years, 7 months ago)
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Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)
4. What assessment his Department has made of the responses to its consultation on the proposed referendum on independence for Scotland.
Amber Rudd (Hastings and Rye) (Con)
8. What assessment his Department has made of the responses to its consultation on the proposed referendum on independence for Scotland.
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Michael Moore)
The Government published their response on 4 April. The responses to the consultation gave strong endorsement to a referendum involving a single, clear question on independence, overseen by the Electoral Commission, using the same franchise as that used to elect the Members of the Scottish Parliament, and held sooner rather than later.
Michael Moore
This is a fundamentally important decision, the most important that we as Scots will make in our lifetimes, and the longer it is delayed, the greater the uncertainty will be. The sooner we can get on with resolving the process and the question, the better.
Amber Rudd
Do the responses of the consultation reflect my view that there should be a simple “yes or no” question in any referendum if we are to secure a decisive outcome for Scotland?
Michael Moore
My hon. Friend is entirely right. We must not muddle the issue of independence with a separate debate on the future of devolution. Today we mark another important milestone in the development of the Scotland Bill. What we want after its enactment—assuming that we receive their lordships’ support—is a clear decision on the future of our country, and for it to stay in the United Kingdom.
Oral Answers to Questions
Amber Rudd Excerpts(12 years, 9 months ago)
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Mr Iain McKenzie (Inverclyde) (Lab)
8. What discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on a referendum on independence for Scotland.
Amber Rudd (Hastings and Rye) (Con)
10. What recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of Scotland on a referendum on independence for Scotland.
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Michael Moore)
The First Minister and I met on Monday 13 February to discuss a referendum on independence. The Prime Minister, the First Minister and I had a further meeting on Thursday 16 February, when we discussed the need for any referendum to be legal, fair and decisive. It is in everyone’s interests that both of Scotland’s Governments work together and I look forward to meeting the First Minister again in due course.
Michael Moore
The fundamental issue is about independence, and that is what we must resolve. We must have a legal, fair and decisive independence referendum.
Amber Rudd
Will my right hon. Friend clarify whether he has had conversations about Antarctica and whether it is true that the previous Government simply forgot to deal with Antarctica and the British territory there? What is his position on making sure that we retain control of it?
Michael Moore
The hon. Lady highlights an important part of the world in which it is important that the UK Government have a role to play. May I point out that through the Scotland Bill, which is passing through their lordships House, we are delivering the biggest transfer of powers to Edinburgh since the Act of Union and tidying up some of the inconsistencies of the devolution settlement?