Oral Answers to Questions

Baggy Shanker Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

Investing an additional £31 billion in the triple lock over this Parliament is delivering huge benefits to pensioners in Scotland, as are our measures to drive up the uptake of pension credit in order to help the very poorest pensioners; our measures to stabilise the economy; and our investment in the NHS, on which many pensioners rely. I am proud of the action that we are taking. Given that this Government have agreed and are giving Scotland its biggest ever funding settlement, the hon. Gentleman should ask some challenging questions of his Government, to ensure that they deliver for Scotland’s pensioners, too.

[Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)]

Last year, a staggering one in four kids in Derby lived in poverty. Our local charities, such as the Derby Food 4 Thought Alliance, do amazing work; last year, they handed out 20,000 food parcels. Will the Secretary of State ensure that the upcoming child poverty strategy addresses the root causes of child food poverty, so that parents are not left struggling to put tea on the table?

[Liz Kendall]

I understand very well the issue that my hon. Friend raises. As a former chair of Feeding Leicester, the programme to end hunger in my city, I see only too clearly the links between poverty and dependence on emergency food parcels. I am very proud that we have already slashed deductions in universal credit and extended the crisis and resilience fund, providing it with its first three-year funding settlement. There is much more to do. We want to make sure that children have hungry minds, not hungry bellies, and we are determined to deliver that.