Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Deidre Brock and David Gauke

Monday 13th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

May I just point out that child poverty is down since 2010? I think the hon. Lady has rather given the game away: she does not want to pause and fix universal credit; she wants to scrap it. She wants to rewind to a system under which claimants faced marginal deduction rates of over 90% and had to cope with a multitude of benefits. We had a benefits system that was not an aid but an impediment to working people and that trapped people in poverty and dependency. That is what universal credit will bring an end to.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

7. What assessment he has made of the effect of changes to employment and support allowance work-related activity group payments on claimant poverty.

Jobcentre Plus: Closures

Debate between Deidre Brock and David Gauke

Thursday 6th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

My hon. Friend is right—it is outcomes that matter. In some circumstances co-location in itself may have benefits and in others having a jobcentre that is modern, properly designed and of sufficient scale to provide a range of services to claimants helps to improve outcomes. It is improved outcomes that we want.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

Evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee from the Public and Commercial Services Union suggested that jobcentre closures were likely to lead to increased numbers of people being late for appointments and therefore being sanctioned, and the director of Poverty Alliance argued that the Government should therefore reconsider sanctions for lateness. Will the Minister now confirm that he is committed to doing so?

[Mr Gauke]

Let us put this in context: 97% of JSA claimants are not sanctioned every month. Given the number of hours we expect people to spend looking for work, I think travelling to a jobcentre, just as people travel to work, is the way life operates for most people. If there are particular circumstances that result in someone being late for an assessment or meeting, they can be taken into account.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Deidre Brock and David Gauke

Wednesday 23rd March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

The answer is no. An agreement has been reached. We are pleased that we have that agreement, and now it is for the Scottish Government to be held accountable by the Scottish people.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

8. What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the effect on Scotland of measures announced in the Budget.

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr David Gauke)]

The Chancellor has delivered a budget that delivers for Scotland. This will be the last Budget where a UK Chancellor sets out income tax rates and thresholds for Scottish earners. The changes to the income tax personal allowance will benefit 2.6 million taxpayers in Scotland. The Budget delivers on our plans to build a stronger Scottish economy as part of the UK and put the next generation first.

[Deidre Brock]

I congratulate the Minister on finding the Chancellor to have those discussions—earlier this week, we thought he had gone walkabout! The Budget had £1 billion-worth of cuts to the Scottish budget and £650 million-worth of cuts to the English NHS. Given the volte-face on social security cuts, does he think he could persuade the Chancellor to reverse Scotland’s cuts and put in a good word for the English NHS as well?

[Mr Gauke]

Let me remind the House that there were three asks from the SNP: a freeze in whisky fuel duty, a freeze in fuel duty, and help for the oil and gas industry. That is exactly what the Chancellor delivered.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Deidre Brock and David Gauke

Wednesday 4th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

8. What steps he is taking to ensure that the new devolution arrangement which would result from the provisions of the Scotland Bill is financially neutral.

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr David Gauke)]

The UK Government are delivering the cross-party Smith agreement in full, giving the Scottish Government substantial new powers over tax and spending. The Smith agreement stated that the devolution of powers

“should be accompanied by an updated fiscal framework”.

The UK and Scottish Governments are discussing that.

[Deidre Brock]

Let me offer the Secretary of State a sixth opportunity to disassociate himself from the subsidy claims that have been made by his own party in the Chamber. Will he do so now? Does he agree that the Treasury’s statements of funding policy over the devolution years have been a creaking and unstable mess, creating unnecessary friction, and will he recommit himself to a more open and transparent process—as he refused to do previously—for the calculation of the block grant to underpin the new fiscal framework?

[Mr Gauke]

There is a process, and it involves UK Treasury Ministers in negotiations with the Scottish Government. We are continuing to work on that process, and we will update the House when there is further news.