Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Elizabeth Truss

Thursday 17th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

Well, I can tell the hon. Gentleman that I am going to be in Yorkshire next Friday, visiting and talking to exporting businesses such as Bettys of Harrogate and Burberry in Leeds. If he wants to extend an invitation to me to visit an exporting business in Huddersfield, he should get on with it.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend be a champion for opening markets to the world’s least developed countries?

[Elizabeth Truss]

Absolutely. One of the great benefits of trade is the prosperity it can bring to some of the poorest countries in the world. Part of our no-deal tariff schedule is about ensuring that those countries are supported, but we will have a huge opportunity to open up more trade once we leave the EU. At the Commonwealth Trade Ministers meeting, we talked about just that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Elizabeth Truss

Tuesday 29th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

If we are going to trade statistics, at the end of the last Labour Government, 20% of young people were unemployed and 1.4 million people were on welfare and left on the scrapheap. We have record employment and the lowest unemployment since the mid-1970s. The way we are going to solve the issue of poverty is to help people get on, help people get into work and get our education levels up.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

10. What recent contingency plans he has made to prepare for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

ONS Decisions: Student Loans

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Elizabeth Truss

Tuesday 18th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Given the provenance of this accounting rule, why did the ONS not get on to it earlier?

[Elizabeth Truss]

That is a matter for the ONS.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Elizabeth Truss

Tuesday 11th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

We recognise that there is increasing demand for the NHS, which is precisely why we have allocated the additional funding, and the Health Secretary will shortly publish a 10-year plan with mental health as one strand of it.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

Is it reasonable for me to expect to pass my assets and property to my heirs unencumbered and intact and at the same time to expect the taxpayer to pay for my social care?

[Elizabeth Truss]

We recognise that social care is an area where reform is needed, and my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary will shortly publish a Green Paper to outline some of the options and to make sure we have a proper discussion as a country about the future of social care.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Elizabeth Truss

Tuesday 17th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

What is unfair is the fact that, under the last Labour Government, youth unemployment went up to 20% and those young people were left on the scrapheap, whereas we have reduced youth unemployment by 40%. We have more young people in work earning the vital skills for their future.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

21. Despite this increase in the price of labour, why is unemployment continuing to fall, particularly youth unemployment?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My right hon. Friend is right, and the reason is that we have taken the time to reduce the deficit to make it easier for employers to take on staff. We have reduced corporation tax, making it easier for companies to hire people. That is why we have the lowest unemployment since 1975, and rising wages. It is a shame that Members on the Opposition Benches cannot acknowledge that massive achievement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Elizabeth Truss

Tuesday 27th February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Lots of councils have done things better and more efficiently, and have led the way across government. We have given more powers to local Mayors, and we are giving Mayors across the country £4.8 billion of new investment over the next 30 years.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

What priority does my right hon. Friend attach to local authorities building new housing?

[Elizabeth Truss]

It is vital that we see more housing built across the country, and that is why in the Budget we committed to 300,000 homes a year being built over the next decade.

Exiting the EU: Costs

Debate between Desmond Swayne and Elizabeth Truss

Wednesday 29th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that considerable work is taking place across Government, but it would be wrong to cut across our negotiators in the deal they are seeking to strike. It is in our country’s interests to reach the point where we are talking about our long-term economic relationship with the European Union.

[Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend should not pay more than we owe, but she should be confident that, whatever that is, it is a bargain against the cost of staying in.

[Elizabeth Truss]

My right hon. Friend makes a good point. Were we to stay in, the costs would be considerably higher than any amount we are talking about as part of our negotiations.