Andrew Western
Main Page: Andrew Western (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)Department Debates - View all Andrew Western's debates with the Leader of the House
(1 year, 9 months ago)
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Penny Mordaunt
I am sorry to hear about the hon. Gentleman’s case. This is a classic situation in which Members of Parliament can make a difference, and I Rhope the hon. Gentleman will intervene and help his constituent. If he has any difficulty in doing that and needs help from the UK Government, we will be very happy to assist him.
Andrew Western (Stretford and Urmston) (Lab)
The Healthy Start scheme is a vital source of income for low-income families with young children, particularly newborns. The price of food has increased by 16% in the past year, while the cost of the cheapest milk formula has risen by some 22%. There are distressing stories of parents desperately mixing flour into milk formula to make it stretch further now that the cost of that formula exceeds the weekly Healthy Start allowance. Could the Leader of the House tell us when the Government will advise whether they intend to freeze the Healthy Start allowance yet again this year, and will she agree to a debate in Government time on the merits of the Healthy Start allowance and the need for an increase at least in line with inflation?
Penny Mordaunt
The hon. Gentleman raises an important point, and I hope he will have noticed the announcement today on family hubs and the local authorities that are particularly being focused on in that announcement. I would encourage all colleagues who have particular concerns about budgets to make representations to the Chancellor in the usual way, and I shall make sure he has heard the hon. Gentleman’s concerns today.