Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Damian Hinds and Owen Thompson

Monday 27th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

T3. Last week, the Scottish Government wrote to the UK Government to express concern over how universal credit is pushing people into more hardship and debt. I also understand that the SNP-led Midlothian Council has written to the Minister to ask for a complete and immediate halt to the full service roll-out of universal credit, which is having an appalling impact on people across my constituency and a further knock-on impact on council resources. When will the Minister realise that the changes being pushed through are punishing some of the most vulnerable people in society? Will he heed warnings from the Scottish Government and others across Scotland that the process should be stopped now?

[Damian Hinds]

Universal credit is a massive reform. I know of no other country with a comparable system that stays with people from being out of work to supporting them in work. Are there challenges in implementing that? Yes, of course there are, but the transformational benefits in sight are immense.

HMRC Office Closures

Debate between Damian Hinds and Owen Thompson

Tuesday 24th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Damian Hinds]

If the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, I will not, because of the time.

I want to respond to the specific points that hon. Members have rightly raised about their constituencies. On Shipley and Bradford, my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary has agreed to meet Bradford MPs, as they know. The chief executives of HMRC and of Bradford’s local authority are also due to meet to discuss the issue. We have heard about Chatham and Chelmsford. I should explain that they are both two-stage programmes with a transitional arrangement in place for three or four years at Maidstone and Southend respectively. The hon. Member for Bootle raised the question of not knowing exactly where in Liverpool the regional centre would be. This programme stretches over a number of years, and it is right that as an organisation goes into a commercial negotiation over premises, it does not identify the exact location it has in mind because, as was mentioned in the debate, that would put up the price that was asked.

I want to reassure the hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) that HMRC is very conscious of the importance of the Welsh language service and intends there to be no denigration of service to Welsh speakers as a result of these changes. I want also to reassure colleagues from Northern Ireland that we expect the number of staff in Northern Ireland to go up at the end of this period, rather than down. HMRC absolutely recognises the unique issues in the Province.

The Scotland-specific proposals will see the opening of two regional centres, in Glasgow and Edinburgh. In addition, a specialist crime centre will be maintained in Gartcosh. Although discussions with individual employees are ongoing, HMRC’s presence in Scotland will remain consistent, at 12% of its total workforce as against only 8% of the UK’s population. To respond to the hon. Member for Dundee West (Chris Law), the 600 jobs at Sidlaw House will move to the Department for Work and Pensions, while we will do everything to find alternative options working one-to-one with those at Caledonian House who are outside reasonable travel times for the new regional centre.

[Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)]

claimed to move the closure (Standing Order No. 36).

Question put forthwith, That the Question be now put.

Question agreed to.

Main Question accordingly put.