Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Christian Matheson and Jane Ellison

Tuesday 29th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Jane Ellison)]

My hon. Friend is right to point to the fact that we inherited a complex system in that regard. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs has enhanced its online services. There will be an online service, for example, for people making new claims for tax credits starting in April 2017. The use of real time information through pay-as-you-earn has really helped to pick up potential errors in claimants’ income, and it is making a difference.

[Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

T5. Chester’s status as a centre for the financial services industry, particularly FinTech, is under threat from continuing problems with retention by businesses, which cannot get staff to come to the area. Staff cannot get there, because our infrastructure is not good enough. Instead of gloating about the Oxford to Cambridge corridor, can we have some news about when money will be spent on the M56 to upgrade it to a smart motorway?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Christian Matheson and Jane Ellison

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Jane Ellison]

My hon. Friend is quite right to highlight the number of people who will be affected by such diseases. There are between 6,000 and 8,000 rare diseases. Among the things that the Government are doing that will make a really big difference to some of the institutions that he mentioned and others, and particularly to sufferers, is the 100,000 genomes project, in which the Government have invested. The creation of a network of genetic medicine centres will underpin that further development of genetic testing services. As a very large proportion of rare diseases are genetically based, we want to make significant progress with that genomic work.

[Christian Matheson (City of Chester) (Lab)]

5. What assessment he has made of the effect of changes to social care budgets on A&E attendances.