National Infrastructure Plan

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Danny Alexander

Wednesday 4th December 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

Several hon. Members have been assiduous in their campaigning on this matter, but I can speak only for those who have come to lobby me personally. I am sure that a lot of remarks have been made by a lot of hon. Members, and I pay tribute to them all. The simple answer to the hon. Gentleman’s question is yes.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

The Chief Secretary will be aware that the major gateway for inward investment to Britain is Heathrow. In his announcement, he committed the Government to take forward projects such as the northern hub at Manchester airport, the Birmingham gateway and the development of western rail access to Heathrow. If he accelerated the latter, we could get western rail access to Heathrow within about three years. Why does he not get it going faster?

[Danny Alexander]

That is a bit of a laugh coming from Labour, which never bothered to look at the idea at all. Aside from that, this was one of the plans in the statement that I made in June where we set out a £100 billion plan for transport investment. I would happily arrange for the relevant Minister to give the hon. Lady a direct update on progress with the project.

Public Service Pensions

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Danny Alexander

Tuesday 20th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

Sadly, the answer to that question is that no such proposals whatsoever have been received.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

I am disappointed that despite a number of written questions from me and the questions put today, the Chief Secretary cannot do better than the OBR estimate of 1% of the pay bill in respect of reduced contributions. In his statement, however, he said that the Government would “review the impact of next year’s increases, including on opt-outs and equality”. Does that mean he will tell us in a report to the House about the impact of these changes on equality so that we can know whether or not his confidence that this is a good deal for women is true?

[Danny Alexander]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for picking up on that point. We will certainly look at the impact on opt-outs of the first year’s contribution increase. That will allow us to make adjustments to how we deliver the increase in years 2 and 3. I will be happy to share the relevant evidence in an appropriate form, perhaps in a statement or debate in the House.

Public Service Pensions

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Danny Alexander

Wednesday 2nd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and she is also right to warn people against some of the misleading propaganda that is circulating. I think it important for public sector workers—teachers, nurses and civil servants—to take time to study the offer that we are making for themselves. The document that we are publishing will be available on a website, so they can check out the new arrangements. As my hon. Friend says, yes, we are asking people to work longer and yes, we are asking them to contribute more, but many people will receive a significantly better pension on retirement than they would receive now.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

I was grateful to the Chief Secretary yesterday for answering my question about public sector workers who will no longer contribute to their pensions. He told me then that he expected 1% of the pay bill to cease to contribute, but added that he did not know who that 1% were. Given that they are very likely to be low-paid part-time workers rather than the highly paid chief executives to whom he has referred, will he make the figures available to the House?

[Danny Alexander]

It is true that I gave the figure of 1% of the pay bill. That is an assumption that was audited by the Office for Budget Responsibility and published in the relevant fiscal forecast that it presented. It is precisely for the reason given by the hon. Lady that we have chosen to tier the pension contribution increases according to income, so that no one earning less than £15,000 a year will experience any contribution increase. Those earning between £15,000 and £21,000 a year will experience a much reduced increase, while the heaviest burden of increases will be borne by the highest earners. That is the right and proper way in which to ensure that there are no opt-outs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Danny Alexander

Tuesday 21st December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

11. What recent representations he has received on the overview of the impact of the spending review 2010 on equalities; and if he will make a statement.

[The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Danny Alexander)]

Throughout the spending review process, the Treasury looked closely at the impact that decisions might have on different groups. We published “Overview of the impact of Spending Review 2010 on equalities” on 20 October, alongside the spending review document. Departments will consider the impact on equalities of decisions that are made as a result of the spending review, in the light of their legal obligations. On the day of the spending review, the decision to publish that document was welcomed by, among others, the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

[Fiona Mactaggart]

The Chief Secretary will recall that the document said that it

“would not…be meaningful to assess the impact”

on gender of the reductions in employment “at this stage”. Given that women’s unemployment exceeds 1 million and is at its highest level since 1988, when will the Government apologise to women for making them bear the brunt of their economic policies?

[Danny Alexander]

I do not accept that analysis. For the sake of completeness, the hon. Lady should recognise that the Government are cleaning up a mess left by the previous Government. If she is interested in the impact on women, she should consider the pay freeze that we have imposed in the public sector, which will protect jobs, and women’s jobs in particular. It is also of benefit to women that we are allowing pay rises for people earning less than £21,000, a disproportionate number of whom are female. For the sake of completeness, she should consider those facts.

Comprehensive Spending Review

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Danny Alexander

Thursday 28th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

So today’s debate also offers a challenge for Labour Members. I will be listening carefully to what they have to say, and I hope that the British public will receive a long-overdue apology for the mess that one party caused and which two parties have come together to clean up.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way—at last. He says that in order to be taken seriously, we need a plan. In order for him to be taken seriously, he needs to be truthful with people. I do not understand how he can claim that fairness is a principle of this comprehensive spending review when women have been hit twice as hard as men.

Public Spending

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Danny Alexander

Thursday 17th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

If the Chief Secretary thinks that the biggest risk to jobs is the deficit, why does Britain have a better employment rate among all other European countries than America?

[Danny Alexander]

The risk that we face is the fact that we have the largest budget deficit in the EU, with the exception of Ireland, that we have a very substantial structural deficit and that growth is lower than forecast. All those things argue for what we are going to do, which is implement a programme to reduce the deficit faster and further than the previous Government proposed. That is the only responsible course to take; profligate spending of the sort we saw in the final days of the previous Government is not responsible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Fiona Mactaggart and Danny Alexander

Tuesday 8th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I am happy to look at the report, but as I said in answer to earlier questions, we made it clear in the coalition programme for government that, although we recognise those concerns, the priority must be to address the budget deficit, and that is what we are going to do.

[Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab)]

Will unemployment and inequality increase or decrease in the coming year?