Margaret Curran
Main Page: Margaret Curran (Labour - Glasgow East)Department Debates - View all Margaret Curran's debates with the Scotland Office
(10 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
David Mundell
The hon. Lady makes an important point. I will take that up with my colleagues in the Cabinet Office and write to her.
Margaret Curran (Glasgow East) (Lab)
Can the Minister tell the House how many people are employed on zero-hours contracts in Scotland?
David Mundell
The answer to that question has not changed since the hon. Lady asked it previously. She knows that there is no legal definition of zero-hours contracts.
Margaret Curran
Well, the House of Commons Library might take issue with that, because according to the Library, 46,000 people in Scotland are on zero-hours contracts and, in fact, it believes that that is an underestimate. Will the Minister join Labour in calling for an end to exploitative zero-hours contracts? Does he agree that, despite all the talk of recovery, there are still thousands and thousands of Scots on very low and insecure incomes? During the Budget process, has he been fighting in the interests of those Scots or, like the rest of the Tories, is he concerned only with those at the top?
David Mundell
It does not surprise me that the hon. Lady does not draw attention to the fact that, on the basis of statistics announced today, employment in Scotland increased by 15,000 over the quarter, and has increased by 79,000 over the year. The Scottish employment rate rose by 0.3%. The way out of poverty is work, and this Government are delivering jobs.