Draft Chemicals (Health and Safety) Trade and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2022

Julie Marson Excerpts

Wednesday 7th September 2022 General Committees

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Julie Marson)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Chemicals (Health and Safety) Trade and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2022.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I am conscious that I may not be the Minister that Committee members were expecting, and I congratulate the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith) on her appointment.

This draft statutory instrument was laid before Parliament on 23 June. As part of this Government’s ambitious international trade agenda, the United Kingdom signed a free trade agreement last year with European economic area and European Free Trade Association countries, such as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The agreement included a chemical annex as part of the technical barriers to trade provisions, which committed both parties to co-operate in the field of chemicals regulation. The draft statutory instrument makes a provision for this chemical annex, so that the Health and Safety Executive can share information on chemicals that it holds, such as individual regulatory substance evaluations and risk assessments with the authorities in those countries.

The SI also allows the UK authorities to use information received from EEA and EFTA countries to help ensure protection in the areas of health and safety, the environment and consumers. The sharing of information will promote greater transparency and understanding of our respective regulatory approaches and of chemicals safety. It will also help to create a greater understanding of the decision-making processes in the UK, which will build trust and confidence with the EEA and EFTA countries, enhancing the robustness of decision making and therefore reduce regulatory costs for UK businesses wishing to place chemical products on the market in EEA and EFTA countries.

The SI also corrects three minor outstanding deficiencies in retained chemicals law relating to leaving the EU, to ensure that the chemicals regime continues to operate effectively and to remove references to the EU in relevant pieces of legislation. There are no policy changes or changes to duties. As the instrument is so technical, I am sure that a brief summary of the changes will be welcomed.

The first of the three retained regulations to be amended is the GB biocidal products regulation, which governs the placing on the market and use of products that contain chemicals that protect humans, animals, materials or articles against harmful organisms such as pests or bacteria. It is in place to ensure that those chemicals are safe for humans, animals and the environment, while improving the functioning of the biocidal products market. The market covers a wide range of products such as wood preservatives, insecticides such as wasp spray and anti-fouling paint to remove barnacles on boats.

Secondly, the GB classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures regulation ensures that the hazardous intrinsic properties of chemicals are properly identified and effectively communicated to those throughout the supply chain, including to the point of use, partly through standardised hazard pictograms and warning phrases associated with specific hazards, such as explosivity, acute toxicity or carcinogenicity.

The third amendment is to the GB prior informed consent regulation, which implements the UK’s obligations under the international Rotterdam convention and requires exports of listed chemicals to be notified to the importing country. For some chemicals, the consent of the importing country must be obtained before export can proceed.

In addition, this SI makes minor technical amendments to several pieces of EU-derived domestic legislation. The provisions for CLP, BPR and PIC, which I have just mentioned, were brought into GB law from EU law. However, during the process, some EU references within the legislation were not removed, so the SI will ensure those references are removed so that CLP, BPR and PIC work as domestic legislation in Great Britain.

[Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab)]

I was not intending to speak, but, just from listening to what the Minister has had to say, does it not occur to her that we, as the authors of the REACH—registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals—regulations in the first instance, have now spent all of this time rewriting things to simply delete references to the EU regulations, and barriers now exist? Has she made any assessment of the cost incurred in trying to make this transition—the cost to businesses in my constituency, who are heavily dependent on engaging with the European Union—and what the fall-off in trade has been? Has any assessment been made?

[Julie Marson]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I would just point out that REACH is a completely different issue. That is covered by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. I take his point about the changes that have ensued from the changes in bringing EU law into UK law, but I would emphasise to his question that there are no costs involved in this SI—in these changes to UK businesses. In fact, this is about moving barriers to trade through replicating EU trade agreements with other countries, so it is actually working to remove costs and trade barriers.

[Mrs Natalie Elphicke (Dover) (Con)]

In relation to harmful organisms and the provisions relating to harmful biocides, does the Minister agree that ensuring that we have effective, physical border controls, and good monitoring of the cross-border arrangements, is vital to ensure the safety and security of our country in these matters?

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[Julie Marson]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. Of course, this is a very important market. Chemicals are important and potentially hazardous products, and it is important that we have the right legislation, and that every part of that process is right to ensure the safety of our countrymen and people throughout Europe and the world, and that is exactly what this is all about.

To finish off, the SI will correct and update references related to “EU Exit” in the Plant Protection Products (Fees and Charges) Regulations 2011 and the Biocidal Products and Chemicals (Appointment of Authorities and Enforcement) Regulations 2013. It will also clarify provisions in the Health and Safety and Nuclear (Fees) Regulations 2021 on fees payable for activities carried out by HSE as the competent authority in relation to biocides.

If the regulations are not made, the UK will be unable to fully meet its obligations under the trade agreement with the EEA and EFTA countries, as HSE would not have the power required to share information on chemicals with the other parties, or to use information received from them under the agreement. The retained chemicals regulations and EU-derived legislation that the instrument amends would continue to operate, as they have done since the end of the EU exit transition period, but the legislation would have contained references to processes and institutions that are no longer relevant for Great Britain.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate and emphasise that the changes that this SI will make to retained and EU-derived chemicals legislation are minor technical amendments and make no changes to either policies or duties. I hope that colleagues of all parties will join me in supporting the draft regulations, which I commend to the Committee.

[The Chair]

I call the shadow Minister, Imran Khan—sorry, Imran Hussain.

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[Julie Marson]

I thank the hon. Gentleman and everyone who has contributed for their comments.

The hon. Gentleman asked important questions about the HSE. The draft SI empowers the HSE to do what is already planned, being a follow-on from the original transition agreement on leaving the EU. It comes under the retained EU law process, so I am confident that the HSE is not only well set up, funded and prepared to do all this, but welcomes the powers in the SI that clarify and enable it to do what it already wants to do and is doing. As he rightly pointed out, that is part of an important safety and regulatory regime. I give him those assurances. Also, I join the hon. Gentleman in paying tribute to those in the Lords who have already debated the draft SI, in particular Baroness Stedman-Scott for all her work.

To conclude, the draft instrument will give the HSE the power it needs to share regulatory information it holds on chemicals to assist the UK in meeting its obligations on regulatory co-operation contained in the chemical annex. That removes the barrier that was stopping the free trade agreement with the EEA and EFTA countries, which would have been detrimental to the HSE making informed decisions about the chemicals being imported and exported. By also correcting the outstanding deficiencies related to EU exit, we will ensure that retained and EU-derived domestic chemicals legislation continues to operate effectively.

Question put and agreed to.

DWP Estate

Julie Marson Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2022 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Julie Marson)]

This Government are committed to helping people back into work, and to support this cross-Government effort, the Department for Work and Pensions has invested in the temporary expansion of its jobcentre network. This has enabled us to deliver for claimants, including through our comprehensive, multibillion-pound Plan for Jobs.

Plan for Jobs has delivered for claimants over the last two years through kickstart, sector-based work academies, job entry targeted support (JETS), Restart and the expansion of our youth hubs. Together, these programmes have helped people get into work and upskill, no matter where they live or the stage of their career.

Recently, our Way To Work scheme achieved the target of getting 500,000 people into work. Since January 31, over 520,000 intensive work search universal credit and jobseekers allowance claimants moved into work during the campaign as we mobilised our workforce and brought employers into jobcentres to see the talent on offer. Latest figures, up to June, show a record high of 29.6 million people are now on payroll in the UK.

Thanks to our Plan for Jobs and the Government’s responsive labour market policy throughout the pandemic, the unemployment level is at a near record low. The Department’s approach “Any Job, Better Job, Career” means work coaches are building on the strength of the labour market with a new focus on progression, helping claimants into better jobs and ensuring they are on a career path that is right for them.

We outlined on 17 March the Department’s strategy which will, over the next 10 years, reshape how, where and when it delivers its back of house services. Over the 10-year period the Department will transition to an estate that is smaller, greener, and better, making DWP more efficient for customers and our employees. By having a smaller footprint, this helps us to be greener. This type of bold modernisation can support efficiencies, create value for money, reduce fraud and error, build resilience and sustainability, and achieve improved customer outcomes and experience. As announced on 17 March, we took advantage of lease breaks in 2023 to improve the future delivery of DWP back of house services.

As part of this 10-year programme, we are now providing an update on another strand of this work, focusing on changes to some of our front of house sites, taking advantage of the lease breaks once again and leaving older lower-quality buildings whilst optimising opportunities presented from some of the temporary jobcentres opened during the pandemic.

We will do this in four ways:

consolidate services in some locations where there is another nearby which offers better accommodation for customers and staff;

look to close older and poorer premises and permanently relocate to the new temporary Jobcentre, making it an established site;

co-locate with key partners;

and in some cases, secure new premises.

The location of the new sites will be as close as possible to the existing offices in order to maintain physical presence in areas and minimise the impact on customers, while providing an improved office environment for customers and staff. This is not about reducing headcount or services offered, and we expect no jobs to be lost.

Details of some of these further site moves have been announced today. Letters are being sent to each MP with an affected site in their constituency explaining what it means for their local jobcentre and their constituents.

[HCWS253]

Work and Pensions

Julie Marson Excerpts

Wednesday 13th July 2022 Ministerial Corrections

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister to her new role. Does she share my concern at recent data showing up to 70,000 armed forces veterans in receipt of universal credit? Does she think that the 50 armed forces champions around the country, who are no doubt doing their absolute best, have the capacity to provide the support to those who have served our country so that they can weather the cost of living crisis?

[Julie Marson]

That is a vital area. Our veterans deserve our respect and every bit of help and assistance that they can receive. We are extending the veterans champions scheme; I will be looking at that in much more detail. This is day one, but I look forward to focusing on that and ensuring that I engage with the hon. Gentleman and others who are concerned about it.

[Official Report, 11 July 2022, Vol. 718, c. 9.]

Letter of correction from the Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Julie Marson):

Errors have been identified in the response I gave to the hon. Member for Barnsley Central (Dan Jarvis).

The correct response should have been:

[Julie Marson]

That is a vital area. Our veterans deserve our respect and every bit of help and assistance that they can receive. We extended the veterans champions scheme in April 2021; I will be looking at this area of our work in more detail. This is day one, but I look forward to focusing on that and ensuring that I engage with the hon. Gentleman and others who are concerned about it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Julie Marson Excerpts

Monday 11th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rob Butler (Aylesbury) (Con)]

8. What steps her Department is taking to help unemployed people into work.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Julie Marson)]

It is a privilege to be here, and I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the former Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Sussex (Mims Davies), for all her incredible work in this role. We want everyone to be able to find a job, to progress in work and to thrive in the labour market, whoever they are and wherever they live. On 26 January 2022, we launched the Way to Work campaign, moving more than 520,000 job-ready claimants into work by the end of June.

[Rob Butler]

I warmly congratulate the Minister on her appointment. Unemployment is at extremely low levels across the country, which is very welcome, but in my constituency of Aylesbury, we still have some small areas where some people struggle to find a job, despite there being vacancies nearby, often because they do not have the skills required to take those jobs. How can my hon. Friend’s Department help those who need new skills to get back into work?

[Mr Speaker]

I also welcome the Minister to the Dispatch Box.

[Julie Marson]

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. My hon. Friend raises the important issue of skills. We empower work coaches to build individual, tailored support packages to help claimants into work and to progress into better work. The DWP has a range of programmes that work coaches can use to help claimants to gain new skills in areas of local labour market need. That includes sector-based work academy programmes and DWP Train and Progress.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

I also welcome the Minister to her new job. Can I ask her to give someone a good kick on the kickstart scheme? It was the skill delivery mechanism for this Government, and it has quietly been put down in some back room. The fact of the matter is that this country needs more skills and this Government are not interested in skills and are not doing their job. Can she not get on with it, and get on with it now?

[Julie Marson]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. Kickstart has delivered more than 163,000 starts, and I think that is hugely to be welcomed. One of the things that is so amazing to me in this role is to recognise the absolute impact on the individual people concerned of those 160,000 job starts. That is something we should welcome.

[Mims Davies (Mid Sussex) (Con)]

I congratulate the Secretary of State and her updated DWP team on their successes up and down the country. It is okay that it is my hon. Friend the Member for Hertford and Stortford who is at the Dispatch Box, rather than anyone else. Delivering help and opportunities up and down the country—true levelling up in action in jobcentres—has been the difference for the Way to Work campaign. Can I ask my hon. Friend, the new Minister, how she is looking to continue to progress for everybody, building on the success of getting half a million people into work through the Way to Work scheme?

[Julie Marson]

Again, I pay tribute to all the amazing work that my hon. Friend did in her role. She is right to talk about the way to work scheme. We are pleased that we have the DWP youth offer, which will continue to offer huge opportunities to people in that age group, and which extends to 16 and 17-year-olds. There are also a multitude of other valuable schemes, such as the 50-plus champions, the job entry targeted support scheme and in-work progression—a whole host of schemes—that we are working hard to deliver.

[Dan Jarvis (Barnsley Central) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister to her new role. Does she share my concern at recent data showing up to 70,000 armed forces veterans in receipt of universal credit? Does she think that the 50 armed forces champions around the country, who are no doubt doing their absolute best, have the capacity to provide the support to those who have served our country so that they can weather the cost of living crisis?

[Julie Marson]

That is a vital area. Our veterans deserve our respect and every bit of help and assistance that they can receive. We are extending the veterans champions scheme; I will be looking at that in much more detail. This is day one, but I look forward to focusing on that and ensuring that I engage with the hon. Gentleman and others who are concerned about it.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Alison McGovern (Wirral South) (Lab)]

I welcome the new Minister to her role. She joins the Government at a unique and special time. I also take the opportunity to pay tribute to the work done by the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Mims Davies). I do not agree with her very much on employment, but I know how hard she worked and that many people in the Department will miss her greatly.

As the Minister is new, I will ask her an easy question—all I am looking for is a single number. By the time she leaves office, how many of the 1 million people who are estimated to have left the labour market will be back to work?

[Julie Marson]

It seems churlish, on day one, to mention the Labour party’s record on jobs. Every time it has left power, it has left more people unemployed than when it started.

[Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)]

9. What support her Department is providing to benefit claimants to help meet increased living costs.

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[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

T6. I frequently get complaints from people in the agriculture sector that they cannot get the workers they need from the UK jobs market. What more can the Department do, perhaps working with educational facilities such as Duchy College in Cornwall, to get jobseekers into these important roles?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Julie Marson)]

As always, my hon. Friend is a fantastic advocate for her constituents in South East Cornwall. Jobcentres work with employers in all sectors to help them to connect with jobseekers who are looking for work, and to fill their vacancies. I encourage any employer to reach out to their local jobcentre. DWP staff recently held events alongside the National Farmers Union to promote jobs in agriculture and connect people to our sector-based work academy programmes.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

British Sign Language Bill

Julie Marson Excerpts

3rd reading
Friday 18th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Julie Marson (Hertford and Stortford) (Con)]

I am privileged to have a second bite at the cherry, because I was extremely proud to support the Bill on Second Reading. I again congratulate the hon. Member for West Lancashire (Rosie Cooper) on her Bill. She used the word “momentous” and I think it is. I also congratulate the campaigners that she mentioned. After Second Reading, I saw all the campaigners in Parliament Square, and it was joyous to behold them, feeling as they did that tangible progress had been made. I hope that those in Trafalgar Square today feel that further progress has been made today and that, with this Bill, we are taking one of the final steps on this journey.

The Bill has wider implications. Many tens of thousands of people in this country use BSL as their preferred language, and that has a wider implication for society at large. The hon. Member for West Lancashire mentioned equality, and it is of course an issue of equality. It will have an impact on up to 12 million people in this country who suffer from some kind of hearing loss, 50,000 of whom are children. As we have a greater life expectancy—I think it is now up to 82 in the UK—we can expect millions more people to experience some hearing difficulty or loss in the next decades. The hon. Lady movingly mentioned her father, and on Second Reading I mentioned my father, who suffers from hearing loss. The lines between the hearing community and the deaf community are increasingly blurred by people like my father, who uses subtitles and hearing aids. That attitudinal shift to “We are all one people and we can suffer from various degrees of hearing loss at any time, and it could affect anyone” helps to unite and give us that equality of opportunity and experience.

I have joined in a campaign run by a constituent of mine called Turn on the Subtitles. It is interesting to realise that we can learn from the experiences of people with hearing difficulties—the campaign recommends turning on subtitles to help children with their literacy, especially as we come out of the pandemic. It is another example of the symbiosis between our different communities.

By legally recognising BSL as an official language, it will become part of our institutions and a normal part of our society. That is a really good thing to do today. Improving education for children is also important. We invest in this initiative for children with hearing difficulties and hearing loss, and that inclusion will last a lifetime. I could not be more proud to be part of that process. As humans, we should always remember that we do not just communicate in one way. We communicate in many different ways; our gestures and body language have much more of an impact than we realise on a day-to-day basis. As human beings, we can communicate in a variety of ways—we can give thumbs up, thumbs down or the peace sign, for example—and they are all an intrinsic part of our communication. What we are doing today brings BSL and some of those other ways of communicating into the mainstream, and I repeat that it is part of the fundamental imperative for people in this place and outside it to strive for equality—equality of access, equality of opportunity—at every possible opportunity.

Protected language status has already been granted to six languages in our country—Welsh, Scots, Ulster Scots, Scottish, Irish Gaelic and Cornish. Amazing as they are, more people currently use BSL than any of those British languages that already have legal recognition. As has been mentioned, 87,000 people have BSL as their preferred daily language, but on any given day up to 250,000 people could be using it. It is a very important part of our culture and our cultural heritage.

It is also worth mentioning one of the longer-term impacts that the Bill might have. A study by Johns Hopkins University in America found that even mild hearing loss can double a person’s risk of developing dementia. The risk is expected to increase fivefold as people experience more and more severe forms of hearing loss, particularly with our ageing population. That is because hearing loss contributes to social isolation, which is a major factor in the development of some of the most heart-wrenching and difficult illnesses, such as dementia. Reducing social isolation may help us to limit some of those wider impacts.

I mentioned on Second Reading that we have two formidable women driving the Bill—the Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith), and the hon. Member for West Lancashire. I know that they are both committed to taking it forward, but also to going further. I congratulate them both—and if this is the revolution, then up the revolution! I am proud to be part of it.

British Sign Language Bill

Julie Marson Excerpts

Friday 28th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Julie Marson (Hertford and Stortford) (Con)]

I should say, [In British Sign Language: “Thank you.”] I start by congratulating the hon. Member for West Lancashire (Rosie Cooper). We speak a lot in this Chamber in conventional ways and according to protocol, but I would like to show her that this Bill goes above protocol and convention. I say to her, [In British Sign Language: “Thank you. I am proud”] to be part of this debate and to be in the Chamber for it.

On a Friday, our proceedings often seem to become about protocol and procedure, but this Bill transcends that kind of debate, because we are in agreement and we are united. It is one of those moments where we can be proud to be doing something that we came into this House to do, which is to make people’s lives better than they already are, and I am very proud to be part of that. I also pay tribute to the Minister. When two powerful, formidable women get together, we can relish the results. It is a pleasure to be a small part of that.

The hon. Member for West Lancashire summed it up when she called this a momentous moment. It is momentous, but it is also timely. Many Members have already spoken about Rose Ayling-Ellis and the issues of communication during a pandemic, where we have literally seen people disadvantaged by the means of communication and being unable to fully participate in that.

I was pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Waveney (Peter Aldous) mentioned “Vision On”, which takes me back, too—I go back a little bit further to that. I will also mention trailblazers such as Evelyn Glennie, who for many years as a percussionist has shown what deaf and partially hearing people can do when they are allowed and have the ability to play a full role in society in all its glory. I learned about Helen Keller at school, who was blind and deaf and was a huge champion of disabled people, of women and of workers’ rights. It is a truism, but given the chance, deaf people can play as much of a part—a powerful part—in society as anyone else.

Like many people, I have learned a lot through the process of preparing for this debate and through listening to the debate. I had no idea how old British Sign Language is, but when we start to unpack it and think about it, the desire to communicate is the most basic human need. We are no more and no less of a member of the animal kingdom, and animals communicate in many non-verbal ways, as do we, such as our facial or physical gestures. I gesticulate a lot when I speak, so we already do it, and while British Sign Language was recognised as a valid means of communication to some extent in 2003, the Bill takes a further step, and that is welcome and logical. It should not surprise anyone; it is part of a progression.

We should acknowledge that more people use BSL than use the languages that are already legally recognised, such as Welsh, Scots, Gaelic, Cornish and the other languages that make up the rich fabric of communication in this country. They are all very valuable, and it is an absolute pleasure that we have another beautiful language to add to that cornucopia of means of communication.

But of course it is about inclusivity. I think it was a week or two ago when we debated a Bill that would enable disabled people to use taxi and cab services. Step by step we are making the right choices and legislation. We are going in the right direction. Of course we can always do more and go quicker, but this is the right direction and the sort of thing we want to see.

[Lilian Greenwood]

Does the hon. Lady agree that when we provide access for disabled people, we often improve public services for everyone? For example, the provision of audio-visual announcements on buses is helpful for disabled people, but it makes it easier for everyone to use them. That is a good reason for improving inclusivity.

[Julie Marson]

The hon. Lady pre-empts something I was going to reflect on, because I completely agree. We should not silo people so that we do something just for that group of people. It enriches and helps us all when we do this kind of thing. Twelve million people in this country are hard of hearing in some way, although they might not call themselves disabled. My father is very hard of hearing. He uses subtitles, hearing aids, and he cannot go into restaurants because he cannot distinguish language and conversation. It strikes me that by bringing British Sign Language more into the mainstream and recognising it legally, we promote it and give it more prominence. Perhaps some of those 12 million people who are affected by some kind of hearing loss might think, “Well here’s another option. I can communicate in a different way. Just as when I travel abroad I might try and order something in Spain in a different language, perhaps I can progress my communication skills in a different way.” The reach and impact of such a measure could be much greater than even we in the Chamber envisage. I am proud to support the Bill, and I again thank the hon. Member for West Lancashire for introducing it.

Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit

Julie Marson Excerpts

Monday 18th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Julie Marson (Hertford and Stortford) (Con) [V]]

I am proud to state clearly once more that the support the Government have provided to people and businesses during the pandemic has been unparalleled and unprecedented. It is one of the most comprehensive packages of support provided by any Government anywhere in the world, with £280 billion committed in support for jobs and incomes. The emergency response has included the furlough scheme; Government-backed loans; support for the self-employed; mortgage holidays; protection for renters; support for people with housing costs; and a £500 million council tax hardship fund. We extended the energy price cap, and provided a £750 million package to support charities and £1 billion in catch-up funding for schools and vulnerable children. The Government have increased the living wage, raised the national insurance threshold to boost pay, and, of course, provided a £7 billion injection into the welfare system to support millions of households.

We are the party of jobs and job creation. We know that work is the best route to recovery. We have put in place a £30 billion transformative plan for jobs to create jobs and enhance skills, because we know that work, not welfare, is the route to recovery and out of poverty. The Chancellor will make his economic announcements, including those involving universal credit, at the Budget in March. That is entirely right and proper. Long-term decisions of this nature have to be taken in the context of a range of economic levers and situations, and, of course, in the context of paying for them.

As this is an Opposition day debate, let us reflect just for a moment on an Opposition who want to abolish the universal credit system without which our welfare system would have collapsed, let alone coped with 1 million more applicants. They once told us that they would abolish boom and bust, and they opposed every measure to get the nation’s finances back on a sound footing after the financial crisis. And let us not forget that it was only a little over a year ago that they were campaigning to make Jeremy Corbyn our Prime Minister and John McDonnell our Chancellor.

There is no legislative impact from today’s vote and it has no bearing on policy or decision making. What my constituents need is a Government who will deliver real support and real change. That is what this Government are doing. That is what we will set out at the Budget in March.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Nigel Evans)]

Just a gentle reminder: please do not refer to current Members of Parliament by their names.