Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann Clwyd and Stephen Crabb

Wednesday 24th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

9. When he expects the report of the Macur review to be published.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

Lady Justice Macur’s report is being considered as a matter of urgency with a view to publication as soon as possible.

[Ann Clwyd]

Eight young boys in my constituency were abused in the 1980s. They have waited all this time for some conclusions. It is ridiculous that in the past two months Government Departments have been sitting on Lady Macur’s report. What is going on? I understand that redactions are taking place. What confidence can we have that when the report is eventually published it is a true report without interference from Government?

[Stephen Crabb]

I thank the right hon. Lady for her question. We are discussing something incredibly serious and sensitive. Let me put on record my thanks to her for the tireless work that she has put in over the years to fight for justice for those who have suffered horrendous abuse. We are talking about some of the most shameful episodes in the history of the nation of Wales.

We have the report, and it is being looked at by the Crown Prosecution Service, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the police. Lady Justice Macur recommended to the Government that certain redactions might need to be made. The commitment that I give to the right hon. Lady and the House today is that we will make redactions only where they are absolutely necessary, and we will provide a full explanation of why we are making those redactions. We owe that to the victims.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann Clwyd and Stephen Crabb

Wednesday 16th September 2015 Commons Chamber

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

1. What assessment he has made of the effect of the summer Budget 2015 on people in Wales.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

With your permission, Mr Speaker, I congratulate the new shadow Wales team and welcome them to their places. I particularly congratulate the hon. Member for Llanelli (Nia Griffith), and wish her well in her new role.

The summer Budget was a one nation Budget to benefit the whole of the United Kingdom. It was a Budget to help to create a higher-wage, lower-tax, lower-welfare economy, and a Budget to reward hard work while protecting the most vulnerable in our society.

[Ann Clwyd]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Llanelli (Nia Griffith) on her very well-deserved promotion. The Budget actually cut millions from over 200,000 working families in Wales. How can the Secretary of State justify pushing even more Welsh children into poverty?

[Stephen Crabb]

I just do not accept the right hon. Lady’s charge. We discussed this issue at length in this place yesterday, and the measures passed with a comfortable majority. The truth is that the vast majority of people in Wales will benefit financially from all the measures we are putting in place through the Budget. I never thought I would see the day when Labour Members stood up to talk down the efforts we are making to increase pay for working people across Wales.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann Clwyd and Stephen Crabb

Wednesday 17th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

I am sure that the Secretary of State will agree that it is important to have an objective assessment of the implications for the people of Wales of pulling out of the EU. Will he therefore commission an objective report on the issues and publish the results?

[Stephen Crabb]

The right hon. Lady makes an extremely useful and important point. We want the people of the UK to make an evidence-led decision. It is not for the Wales Office to commission such a report, but I suspect that many other independent organisations will be looking at such evidence, and we look forward to seeing the results.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann Clwyd and Stephen Crabb

Wednesday 21st January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend is right. Welsh produce is the best in the world, and when it is labelled as such it gives consumers powerful signals, which they respond to. That is one of the ways in which we have been able to boost exports of Welsh agriculture produce in the past two years, but we will look at what further steps we can take to support labelled home-grown produce.

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

5. What assessment he has made of the implications for the Government’s policies of the Auditor General for Wales’s report on “Managing the Impact of Welfare Reform Changes on Social Housing Tenants in Wales”, published in January 2015.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann Clwyd and Stephen Crabb

Wednesday 12th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Crabb]

I join my hon. Friend in welcoming the investment from that meat processing company in his constituency. The agri-food sector is incredibly important to west Wales, and not least to Ceredigion. My hon. Friend represents one of the most important farming and agricultural constituencies in the UK, and the investment by that company is a sign of the growing confidence in the UK economy and the Welsh economy.

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

3. How many fitness to practise cases regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council in Wales are waiting to be resolved.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann Clwyd and Stephen Crabb

Wednesday 8th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

5. What recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of the roll-out of universal credit on people in Wales.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

The roll-out of universal credit will reduce the historic dependency on benefits for the people of Wales by making the system simple and more flexible, and by increasing the incentive to work.

[Ann Clwyd]

Is it not a fact that repeated promises to deliver the project on time and on budget have been broken yet again? Officials are warning of further delays and more wasted taxpayers’ money, and Ministers are arguing among themselves while families and children in Wales live in poverty. What way is this to run a country?

[Stephen Crabb]

What universal credit represents for the country, including Wales—I think Opposition Members recognise this as well—is a generational opportunity to change the welfare system better to support those who need it. It is exactly right that we take the time necessary to get the systems and processes right to ensure that we get the outcomes right for people in Wales.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann Clwyd and Stephen Crabb

Wednesday 20th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend is quite right: economic inactivity and worklessness have been a curse on Wales for too long. Under the last Labour Government, economic inactivity rates averaged around 21%; under this Government they are down to around 21%. [Interruption.] We are not complacent: we want to go further with improving the situation.

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

14. In some parts of Cynon Valley, over half the children are living in poverty. Why?

[Stephen Crabb]

I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for that question. I visited her constituency and I am well aware of the deep-seated, long-entrenched problems there. I have been to the jobcentre in Aberdare and seen how hard the excellent team are working to tackle long-term unemployment, but there are no quick fixes. What we are doing, with the Work programme and our other efforts through the Department for Work and Pensions, is trying to bear down on worklessness and get more people into jobs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Ann Clwyd and Stephen Crabb

Wednesday 27th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

12. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of the under-occupancy penalty on social housing in Wales.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

Information on the expected impact of the social sector under-occupancy measure is provided in the impact assessment prepared by the Department for Work and Pensions.

[Stephen Crabb]

The hon. Gentleman describes a reduction in Government expenditure as a tax. Opposition Members confuse their debt with their deficits and they spent 13 years describing out-of-control public spending as investment. I agree with the point made by the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty) on 5 February when he said that people who suffer from low levels of financial literacy struggle to make correct budgeting decisions. The hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) and his party are proof of that.

[Ann Clwyd]

No. 12, Mr Speaker.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ann Clwyd]

I shall take the moment, Mr Speaker.

One immediate measure that would protect the most vulnerable people would be to exempt those on disability living allowance from this tax. Will the Minister urgently review this policy?

[Stephen Crabb]

Let me start by wishing the right hon. Lady well with the important job that the Prime Minister has asked her to do on complaints in the NHS. I know that she has the respect and support of the whole House.

I understand the concerns among the disabled community about the implementation of this measure, but we are making substantial resource available for local authorities to assist with the difficult specific cases, among which I expect the disabled to be included.