Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Catherine McKinnell and Esther McVey

Monday 9th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. We know that the situation needs reform, and that we need much greater capacity within mainstream schools so that children with special educational needs and disabilities can be educated alongside their peers where that is the appropriate place for them to be, but also so that special school places are available where needed. That is why we have put in £740 million of additional investment to support mainstream schools to expand their specialist provision.

[Esther McVey (Tatton) (Con)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

Food Banks

Debate between Catherine McKinnell and Esther McVey

Wednesday 18th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Esther McVey]

Now that I have set the scene, I give way to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell).

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

My constituency office took a phone call from an ex-serviceman yesterday who is now thankfully in receipt of a war pension, disability living allowance and employment and support allowance. However, while he was waiting for four weeks for Atos to deal with his appeal, he had to use a food bank. Does the Minister agree that that is an absolute disgrace?

[Esther McVey]

We have hardship payments and support payments. We have put in a new element of reconsideration to make the process quicker. The speed of the transaction for getting benefits has increased by six percentage points.

Let us not get away from how this started under Labour. What each and every one of us does is important. I have heard nothing from Opposition Members about the news that, because of our welfare-to-work programme, 30 million people are in jobs today. We know that under Labour, the number of households with nobody working doubled—[Interruption.]