Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Liz McInnes

Tuesday 11th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

17. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of funding allocated to local authorities for children’s services.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Elizabeth Truss)]

We have increased the overall spending on early years and children’s services to £12.7 billion.

[Liz McInnes]

My local council, Rochdale Borough, predicts an overspend of £4.5 million this year on children’s services, with a predicted total overspend in England of £840 million, so will the Chief Secretary now admit that £84 million—just one tenth of the total overspend—goes nowhere near addressing this local and national crisis?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The £84 million is specifically to roll out pilots and projects that we know have worked to reduce demand on children’s services and make sure children get a better outcome, but at the Budget we also put in an extra £410 million, which councils can spend on either adult social care or children’s social care.

Public Sector Pay Cap

Debate between Elizabeth Truss and Liz McInnes

Wednesday 5th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Liz McInnes (Heywood and Middleton) (Lab)]

The Labour Government brought in Agenda for Change for NHS staff, which finally put us—I was one of those NHS staff—on a fair rate of pay with an independent pay review body, but since 2010 the coalition Government and the Tory Government have systematically undermined Agenda for Change pay rates by capping and freezing wages. The Government are all too ready to describe NHS workers as fantastic, but giving them a fair pay award is just that—fantasy. Is it not time that the Government put their money where their mouth is?

[Elizabeth Truss]

The hon. Lady is not acknowledging the fact that more than half of those people on Agenda for Change are receiving average incremental pay of 3.3%.