Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Murrison and Mark Durkan

Wednesday 28th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Dr Murrison]

The hon. Gentleman makes his points in his usual robust fashion. It is clearly important that justice is done in Northern Ireland as it is throughout the United Kingdom, and that when there are failings they are properly investigated.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

4. What steps she is taking to safeguard records relevant to the work of the Historical Investigations Unit, the Independent Commission for Information Retrieval, inquests, and other inquiries into the past.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrew Murrison and Mark Durkan

Wednesday 10th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Dr Murrison]

That is a matter for the Executive. They need to make a judgment on whether it will produce a net improvement to the economy in Northern Ireland. They have decided that it will create up to 40,000 extra jobs, so they clearly believe that corporation tax will have a net benefit to the economy of Northern Ireland, but they will have to find the money from the block grant.

[Mark Durkan (Foyle) (SDLP)]

7. What assessment she has made of the effect in Northern Ireland of the introduction of the welfare cap.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Dr Andrew Murrison)]

Welfare expenditure accounts for one-sixth of all public spending. The introduction of a UK welfare cap was overwhelmingly approved by 520 Members of this House, although I accept not by the hon. Gentleman. The cap ensures that social security expenditure remains fair to claimants and yet affordable to taxpayers in both Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

[Mark Durkan]

On welfare spending in Northern Ireland, what assurance can the Minister give that the operation of the cap will not entail a cap within a cap in ways that mean future benefit take-up campaigns will, for the first time, be at the expense of other benefits, which has never been the case in the past?

[Dr Murrison]

The hon. Gentleman is perhaps confusing the welfare cap with the benefit cap. It is important to note that the previous Minister in the Department for Social Development, Nelson McCausland, said that universal credit will lift 10,000 children out of poverty, and that most people in Northern Ireland will benefit from the change in the welfare rules. This has a substantial capacity to improve the lives of those who are reliant on welfare in Northern Ireland.