Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Cheryl Gillan and Jessica Morden(12 years, 9 months ago)
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Mrs Gillan
Right from the beginning when I was appointed Secretary of State for Wales, I set up a business advisory group so that I could listen directly to the concerns of business and industry. I hold regular meetings with that group, and as recently as this week I met the new chief executive of the CBI Wales. I certainly listen to what businesses are saying, as do this Government.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
5. What assessment she has made of the effects of Government funding reductions on women in Wales.
The Secretary of State for Wales (Mrs Cheryl Gillan)
We want to put women at the heart of our economic future. Although we have had to make difficult decisions, we are ensuring that the reductions made are shared fairly, while still protecting the most vulnerable in society.
Jessica Morden
Not only are Welsh women being hit particularly hard by the cuts but, as my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea West (Geraint Davies) said, on April 6 more than 9,000 families in Wales will discover that they will be hit by a change to working tax credits that could mean the loss of up to £3,800 a year unless they increase their hours. Does the Secretary of State have any comprehension of how hard it will be for those families to increase their hours, especially in retail, and what is she doing to fight their corner?
Mrs Gillan
As the hon. Lady knows, the Government’s top priority is an economic recovery that provides jobs for everybody, including women. In difficult times, the Government have been helping families with the cost of living. For example, we have been freezing council tax, while the Welsh Labour Government have refused to implement a similar policy in Wales, and extending free health care and child care. We have increased that entitlement in England. I challenge Labour, in power in Wales, to match that record.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Cheryl Gillan and Jessica Morden(13 years, 1 month ago)
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Mrs Gillan
I think my hon. Friend knows that we are trying very hard to create the right conditions to encourage private sector growth, and particularly to make life easier for SMEs. He will know that we are also exempting them from audit requirements that will save SMEs in the UK up to £200 million a year. It is particularly important that we are exempting micro-businesses and start-ups from new domestic regulation until 2014. The point that he has raised is just another way in which we are trying to help private business to grow in the UK.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
A Sheffield Hallam university report published over the summer estimated that 30,000 people in Wales could lose their incapacity benefit as a result of the Government’s welfare changes, and could therefore be looking for work. How optimistic is the Secretary of State that the private sector will be able to create that level of employment?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Cheryl Gillan and Jessica Morden(13 years, 8 months ago)
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Mrs Gillan
Yes, I join my hon. Friend in congratulating the company in her constituency. If all 26 million households in the United Kingdom take up our green deal over the next 20 years, employment in that sector could rise from its present level of 27,000 to something approaching 250,000, working all around the UK to make our housing stock fit for a low-carbon world.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
11. What recent estimate she has made of the number of jobs to be lost in the public sector in Wales as a result of the reductions in public expenditure in 2011-12.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Cheryl Gillan and Jessica Morden(14 years, 2 months ago)
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Mrs Gillan
The hon. Gentleman should know that I have deep affection for RAF Valley, having done my armed services parliamentary fellowship scheme with the RAF. I was even privileged to sit in the back seat of several fast jets, courtesy of some first-class pilots. The RAF has a special place in my heart, and I can certainly assure him that I will always speak up loudly for RAF Valley.
Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)
4. What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on policing in Wales.