Spending Review and Autumn Statement

Debate between George Osborne and Jess Phillips

Wednesday 25th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

I thank my hon. Friend for her words of support and for the work that she has done as Chair of the Science and Technology Committee. She made exactly the same point to me in person—that as well as providing capital support for science, we had to provide resource support to make sure that the facilities were well funded and could operate throughout the year. That is why we have increased the science resource budget and made sure that it now goes up in real terms. I know that she will want to look at Paul Nurse’s report, which is about making sure that we better co-ordinate our scientific research activity across the country.

[Jess Phillips (Birmingham, Yardley) (Lab)]

I very much welcome the Chancellor’s announcement about how the tax that I pay on my sanitary products will now be spent on women’s health charities. Will any of that money be spent on domestic and sexual violence charities? Will it be better spent than the money he announced in his Budget, which provided 27p for each woman who lived in a refuge, is only being given out now, and has to be spent by the end of March, pretty much helping no one for about four months?

[Mr Osborne]

The £15 million from the tampon tax will be available to charities that support women: not just women’s health causes but domestic violence causes, where they do brilliant work. I have announced the allocation to four charities, some of which are already involved in domestic abuse prevention. Having listened to the hon. Lady over the past few months as a new Member of Parliament, I suspect that we will not agree on many things in this Parliament, but if she has some good causes that she would like to be funded by this money, I will take a very serious look at them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between George Osborne and Jess Phillips

Wednesday 17th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Osborne]

My hon. Friend is already doing a great job in speaking up for the city of Plymouth, alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Oliver Colvile), and as a result we have major investments in transport in the south-west, such as the upgrade of the A303 and the new trains on the Great Western line down to the south-west. I can confirm that we are in active discussions to provide those new trains and we hope to have further good news later this summer.

[Jess Phillips (Birmingham, Yardley) (Lab)]

Q8. According to the Women’s Aid annual survey last year, on one single day there were 132 women aged 18 to 20 living in refuge after being attacked, assaulted and in some cases raped. Will the Chancellor guarantee for me and those women that those living in supported accommodation like refuge will not be included in his Government’s plans to remove housing benefit from those aged 18 to 21, or will he see 132 women who have been abused return to their violent partners every day?

[Mr Osborne]

We made it very clear when we set out our proposals on housing benefit that we would protect particularly vulnerable people, such as those that the hon. Lady refers to, and I welcome her to the House.

I would make a broader argument about welfare reform. This country faces a very simple choice. We have 1% of the world’s population and 4% of its GDP, but we undertake 7% of the world’s welfare spending. We can either carry on on a completely unsustainable path or we can continue to reform welfare so that work pays and we give a fair deal to those on welfare and a fail deal to the taxpayers of this country who pay for it.