David Mundell
Main Page: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)Department Debates - View all David Mundell's debates with the Scotland Office
(11 years, 7 months ago)
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Alison McGovern (Wirral South) (Lab)
2. What assessment he has made of the extent of the use of zero-hours contracts in Scotland.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)
The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills recently concluded a consultation on zero-hours contracts with proposals on exclusivity clauses, transparency and guidance. A summary of consultation responses will be published in due course.
Alison McGovern
The Office for National Statistics has recently had to uprate massively the number of people it estimates are on zero-hours contracts right across the UK. Does the Minister agree that this is the wrong time to see a race to the bottom between UK nations on working standards for ordinary people, whether they live in Scotland, England, Wales or anywhere else?
David Mundell
I agree with the hon. Lady. She will know that a 670-page White Paper was produced by the SNP Scottish Government. On zero-hours contracts, as on everything else, it is very short on detail.
Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)
Will the Minister explain what assessment has been made of Government procurement contracts in relation to zero-hours contracts and how we can encourage best practice?
David Mundell
The hon. Lady makes an important point. I will take that up with my colleagues in the Cabinet Office and write to her.
Margaret Curran (Glasgow East) (Lab)
Can the Minister tell the House how many people are employed on zero-hours contracts in Scotland?
David Mundell
The answer to that question has not changed since the hon. Lady asked it previously. She knows that there is no legal definition of zero-hours contracts.
Margaret Curran
Well, the House of Commons Library might take issue with that, because according to the Library, 46,000 people in Scotland are on zero-hours contracts and, in fact, it believes that that is an underestimate. Will the Minister join Labour in calling for an end to exploitative zero-hours contracts? Does he agree that, despite all the talk of recovery, there are still thousands and thousands of Scots on very low and insecure incomes? During the Budget process, has he been fighting in the interests of those Scots or, like the rest of the Tories, is he concerned only with those at the top?
David Mundell
It does not surprise me that the hon. Lady does not draw attention to the fact that, on the basis of statistics announced today, employment in Scotland increased by 15,000 over the quarter, and has increased by 79,000 over the year. The Scottish employment rate rose by 0.3%. The way out of poverty is work, and this Government are delivering jobs.
Dr Eilidh Whiteford (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)
3. What assessment he has made of the effect of the Government’s welfare reforms on levels of child poverty in Scotland.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)
The Scottish Government child poverty strategy report was published in September 2013 and states that child poverty in Scotland is at its lowest level since 1994. Welfare reform will be subject to the normal policy review process in due course.
Dr Whiteford
I am appalled by the Minister’s complacency. He should be aware that more than half the children in poverty in Scotland have working parents, and that the Child Poverty Action Group estimates that 100,000 more children will be pushed into poverty as a consequence of welfare reform. Why do his Government think that it is okay to make children pay the price of austerity, and does he think that it is a price worth paying?
David Mundell
Each month, the hon. Lady raises welfare issues and plumbs new depths of hypocrisy. The Scottish Government produced a 670-page—[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. I am quite clear that the context in which the hon. Gentleman is using that term is not collective but individual and personal. [Interruption.] Order. I can handle the matter. The Minister will withdraw that term: it was directed at an individual, and it is inappropriate.
David Mundell
I withdraw unreservedly, Mr Speaker. The point I want to make is that the Scottish National party produced a 670-page White Paper on Scottish independence. How many mentions does it make of child poverty? One, on page 41.
Iain Stewart (Milton Keynes South) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that a good way of tackling child poverty in Scotland and England is to raise the personal tax allowance, which would target low earners? That is an effective way of increasing the household incomes of families at the bottom end of the income scale.
David Mundell
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Since the coalition Government came to office, 2.2 million people in Scotland have seen their income tax bills reduced.
Lindsay Roy (Glenrothes) (Lab)
Will the Minister confirm what impact the imposition of the bedroom tax has had on child poverty in Scotland?
David Mundell
On the spare room subsidy, the hon. Gentleman is aware that the Government have introduced significant contributions in relation to discretionary housing payment. He knows as well that the Scottish Government have significant powers to contribute to any mitigation that they think is necessary.
Guy Opperman (Hexham) (Con)
Surely the best way to address child poverty is by increasing employment and changing education and skills so that young people in Scotland and England have the skills and aspirations to work their way out of child poverty.
David Mundell
My hon. Friend is exactly right, which is why I would have thought that even Opposition Members would welcome the fact that employment in Scotland has increased by 15,000 over the quarter, and that the Scots employment rate rose by 0.3%.
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) (Lab)
Child poverty has long-lasting effects. By the age of 16, children receiving free school meals achieve significantly lower exam grades than their wealthier peers, and they leave school with fewer qualifications, which translates into lower earnings over the course of their working lives. Will the Minister speak with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and demand a proper start in life for all children, something that is threatened by this Government’s welfare reform programme?
David Mundell
I do not accept the claim that this Government are responsible for child poverty. I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s Dumfries and Galloway council colleague, Marion McCutcheon, who said that the only solution to child poverty is work. That is what this Government are delivering, with 15,000 more people in employment over the past quarter.
Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)
4. What assessment he has made of the financial benefits for Scotland of being part of the UK.
Mr Graham Allen (Nottingham North) (Lab)
7. What discussions he has had on the potential benefits of replicating aspects of the Scottish devolution model in England; and if he will make a statement.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)
The devolution settlement is designed to meet the needs and wishes of the people of Scotland. This Government are committed to devolving power across the United Kingdom to the most appropriate level, taking account of local need. In England, we are achieving this in many ways, including the city deals programme in which Nottingham is a participant.
Mr Allen
A lasting democratic settlement in the UK must be based on the twin principles of union and devolution. Does the Minister share my view that separatism will be weaker and devolution will be stronger and more believable, not least to the Scottish people, if its benefits are spread to England too?
David Mundell
This Government are committed to devolution within England, and the hon. Gentleman is a prominent advocate of that. He recognises, as I do, that independence in Scotland is the end of devolution there.
Tim Farron (Westmorland and Lonsdale) (LD)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that devolution should absolutely take place in England, but it should be chosen by the people of its regions and not imposed by central Government as it was by the previous Labour Deputy Prime Minister?
David Mundell
I agree that the form that devolution takes within England—and, indeed, within the rest of the United Kingdom outwith Scotland—is a matter for the people of the rest of the United Kingdom.
Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP)
There are, of course, new proposed models of devolution on offer. Yesterday we had Labour’s devo-dog’s breakfast as an offer to the Scottish people. Does the Minister find anything attractive in Labour’s chaotic plans? Will they form the basis of the joint proposition, and if not, why not?
David Mundell
What we know about the SNP’s position is that it opposes devolution to Scotland and devolution within Scotland with its centralist agenda.
Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)
9. What assessment he has made of the potential effect of Scottish independence on investment in the North sea oil industry.