Oral Answers to Questions

Chris Stephens Excerpts

Wednesday 6th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)]

2. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the increased cost of living on people in Northern Ireland.

[Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)]

7. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the increased cost of living on people in Northern Ireland.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Baker]

I am inclined just to say no. The reality is that this conversation will keep going to and fro. We have left the European Union and we are staying out of the European Union. Our task is to make sure that we flourish as a nation outside the EU, and I wish the hon. Gentleman would just get behind it and move on.

[Chris Stephens]

In June this year, according to research by the Trussell Trust, one in six people across Northern Ireland faced hunger, with nearly half of those referred to Trussell Trust food banks being children under the age of 16. In Scotland, primary school children get a £120 uniform grant and secondary school pupils get a £150 uniform grant, but the amount in Wales in Northern Ireland is almost a quarter of that. Given that parents are choosing between spending money on back-to-school supplies or on food, what steps is the Minister taking to ease the cost of living pressures on families in Northern Ireland?

[Mr Baker]

As I said, we provided a large sum of money to ease cost of living pressures in Northern Ireland. The hon. Gentleman mentions food banks, which are very much on my mind, given the scale of the food bank in Wycombe. I am very well aware of the cost of living pressures in Northern Ireland. We continue to put large sums of money into Northern Ireland, but it would be much better to deal with all these issues in the presence of a restored Executive.