Parliamentary Representation
Debate between Anne Begg and John Bercow(12 years, 7 months ago)
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Dame Anne Begg
Indeed, and work has been done on the all-male shortlists of all political parties in the last general election.
It will take a culture change and a lot of hard work before the people out there can look at us in here and say, “They represent me.” I hope Members will agree that that work needs to continue.
Mr Speaker
In view of the extensive interest in this debate, I have had to limit the time for Back-Bench speeches still further, from eight minutes to six.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Anne Begg and John Bercow(12 years, 7 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Speaker
Order. There are far too many noisy private conversations taking place in the Chamber. I would like to hear Dame Anne Begg.
Dame Anne Begg (Aberdeen South) (Lab)
Now that the move from incapacity benefit to employment and support allowance is well under way, anecdotally, it would appear that Atos is finding it very difficult to carry out the necessary work capability assessments, so there could be extra delays. Will the Minister please engage with his fellow Ministers in the DWP to make sure that Atos can deliver on the contract?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Anne Begg and John Bercow(12 years, 9 months ago)
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Mr Speaker
I am glad that I asked for the question to be put again—and I am glad I heard the answer. Very satisfying.
Dame Anne Begg (Aberdeen South) (Lab)
I was particularly disappointed to hear the reply that the Minister with responsibility for disabled people gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Mrs McGuire). The Minister seemed to imply that the only way one could trust a disabled person to tell the truth was in a face-to-face interview. The Government seem hellbent on making every disabled person go through multiple face-to-face interviews to get any kind of benefit. She was disparaging about filling in a form and getting supporting medical evidence. Dame Carol Black has said in her most recent reports that there should be fewer face-to-face interviews for employment and support allowance. What is the Minister’s response to that?